Mother to remain held, charged with stabbing her 3 kids, 1 fatally, in Logan Square
A mother will remain in jail after appearing in court on Sunday, accused of stabbing her children before setting their house on fire in Logan Square on the Fourth of July.
Wendy Tolbert, 45, was arrested moments after Chicago police said she had fatally stabbed her youngest son with a knife. She was charged with 14 felony counts, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated arson, and battery.
The assistant state's attorney said Tolbert stabbed her son, 4-year-old Jordan Wallace, 36 times.
Tolbert was visibly shaken in the courtroom as the prosecutor read the proffer. A friend of the family said they were in utter shock learning the details behind the stabbings and arson.
"We all surprised, and it shocked everybody," Anthony Dobbs said.
Dobbs said he's known Tolbert his whole life, and to find out she stabbed all three of her children was devastating.
"So heartbreaking to hear the judge and everybody say what she did. It's really messed up," he said.
Prosecutors said on Friday, Tolbert's 10-year-old son was sitting on the floor playing video games, with his 4-year-old brother lying on the floor next to him. That's when, out of nowhere, Tolbert came out of the kitchen with a knife and stabbed the 10-year-old in the arm. He pushed her away and ran.
The 10-year-old ran to the stairs, turned around, and saw the 4-year-old trying to run, but Tolbert followed and stabbed him before she kicked the child in the back, causing him to fall down the stairs. She stabbed him 36 times in the face, neck, and chest.
The 10-year-old ran to a room that shared a wall with his 13-year-old sister. Prosecutors said they came up with a plan to escape. The sister called the police and said her mother was trying to kill her before Tolbert banged on the girl's door.
The brother and sister both opened their doors at the same time and tried to fight back. That's when Tolbert stabbed her daughter multiple times in the face, neck and chest.
When officers arrived, they saw Tolbert with a knife in one hand and a paper towel that was on fire in her other hand. Officers rescued the children from the burning building, and one officer had to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Prosecutors said she admitted to police she stabbed her children because they were possessed by the devil.
The fire spread to a neighboring building, displacing those residents.
The public defender said Tolbert had no criminal history but suffers from mental health issues and is diagnosed with cancer.
"She was scared of everything. So, I couldn't even understand. She didn't even like knives or none of that. It's just shocking," Dobbs said.
The judge called her actions pure evil, saying she poses a real and present threat to her family, neighbors, officers, and firefighters and will remain detained.
The Department of Child and Family Services said the family has never received services from the state agency and is working with law enforcement on this incident.
The 13-year-old girl remains in the hospital in critical condition. The 10-year-old was released from the hospital.
The video above is from an earlier report.
