This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/police-identify-three-girls-found-stabbed-to-death-in-maryland-home/2017/08/19/a406bf12-84de-11e7-ab27-1a21a8e006ab_story.html

The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Police identify three girls found stabbed to death in Maryland home He was supposed to be caring for his sister and two cousins. Instead he killed them, he told police.
(about 2 hours later)
Three young girls found dead in a Maryland house on Friday were fatally stabbed by an older brother of one of the children, according to Prince George’s County police. Antonio Williams was supposed to be caring for his six-year-old sister and two young cousins as his mother worked an overnight shift as a nurse. Instead he methodically killed each girl as they lay in a single bed in a Maryland home, Prince George’s County police said.
Police on Saturday morning identified the girls as Ariana Elizabeth DeCree, 9; Nadira Janae’ Withers, 6; and Ajayah Royale DeCree, 6. The mother, Andrena Kelley, returned to the Clinton residence early Friday morning to find the gruesome scene, the bodies of her daughter, Nadira Janae’ Withers, 6; and visiting cousins, Ariana Elizabeth DeCree, 9; and Ajayah Royale DeCree, 6, brutally stabbed in a basement bedroom.
Antonio Williams, 25, of Clinton, has been arrested on three counts of first-degree murder and other related charges in the slaying of the girls. Williams is the brother of Withers and a cousin of the other two girls. Williams, 25, made no attempt to flee, later confessing what he had done, police said at a Saturday news conference offering details about the crime. But as of Saturday, police said there was still a mystery at the heart of the case: What prompted Williams, who marked his birthday Saturday, to carry out such horrific slayings?
The Decree sisters are from Palm Street in Newark, NJ. They are the daughters of the suspect’s mother’s cousin and were in Maryland for the summer, police said. Investigators said they were still probing for a motive.
The mother of Nadira and Williams returned to her home in Clinton at around 7:30 a.m. Friday after working an overnight shift and leaving the girls in Williams’s care. She discovered the three girls suffering from stabs wounds in a basement bedroom. Williams spared the life of his other 2-year-old sister, who was found unharmed in the home, police said.
[Man arrested after three girls found dead in Prince George’s home][Man arrested after three girls found dead in Prince George’s home]
After the mother called 911, officers arrived at the house in the 6400 block of Brooke Jane Drive and the children were pronounced dead around 7:46 a.m. A fourth child, a 2-year-old, was inside, alive and unharmed, police said. Police said it remained unclear why the girl was spared. The killings shook even hardened officers and first responders, assistant Prince George’s County police chief Hector Velez said at a Saturday news conference. Counselors were made available to them.
Police said Williams remained at the scene after the slayings. He was transported to a police station, where authorities said he offered a complete confession to the stabbings during an interview with investigators. Williams told investigators he killed the girls while they were laying in the bed, but it’s unclear if they were asleep at the time. “Incidents like these are not easy to handle,” Velez said. “As parents, aunts, uncles and siblings of young children, it hurts us as well. Our initial thought is to want to hug our children, but we know we have to put those feelings aside and remain steadfast in finding who the killer is and telling the story that these three children cannot tell.”
Police said they had not had contact with Williams before the incident and had never been called to the address, where the girls were found dead. Williams turned 25 Saturday. That story began shortly around 7:30 a.m. Friday, when Kelley returned to the gray single-family home in a quiet neighborhood. She called 911 to report finding the girls unresponsive.
When reached by phone Friday, a woman associated with the Withers family said they we not ready to speak about the loss of their loved one. Police officers soon arrived and the girls were declared dead at 7:46 a.m., police said. Investigators are still trying to determine when exactly the stabbings took place and autopsies are being performed on the bodies.
“All three girls were found lying in a single bed suffering from puncture wounds and lacerations,” said Prince George’s County police Captain Anthony Schartner at the news conference. He added later: “Mr. Williams was the only adult at the time in the home.”
Police said the DeCree sisters were visitingfor the summer from Newark Their mother and Nadira’s mother are first cousins.
Police said they had not had contact with Williams before the incident and had never been called to the address in the 6400 block of Brooke Jane Drive, where the girls were found dead. Williams has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and other related charges.
Relatives of the girls declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.
A woman who answered a call to a number connected to Withers’s father said they were not ready to speak about the loss of the children.
“Right now, we’re very distraught,” she said.“Right now, we’re very distraught,” she said.
On Saturday, a note addressed to the media sat outside the door of an address associated with the family, asking for time to grieve. On Saturday, a note addressed to the media sat outside the door of an address associated with the Withers family, asking for time to grieve.
“Our hearts are extremely heavy during this time,” read the note signed “The Withers Family.”“Our hearts are extremely heavy during this time,” read the note signed “The Withers Family.”
A video message that appeared to be from the mother of the DeCree girls was posted on the woman’s Facebook page on Saturday. An online wedding page showed Nadira Withers had served as a flower girl at her father’s wedding last summer. In a photo, she’s smiling, her hair styled in a bob, and her hand resting across her heart.
“Hug you all’s loved ones tonight,” the woman said. “Hold the people you hold close tonight because I never thought I would really say this and mean this. Tomorrow is not gauranteed. It’s not guaranteed for you. It’s not guaranteed for me, so if we leave with a message of just love who you love. Let go of those...family grudges. Let go of those friend grudges. Just let go...because your family may not be here tomorrow.” The mother of the DeCree girls did not respond to a request for comment, but a video message that appeared to be from her was posted on the woman’s Facebook page on Saturday.
Police worked into the night Friday collecting evidence from the gray, single family home on a quiet block. A rust-colored car sat in front of the home. Police tape stretched across several blocks of the neighborhood of during the massive investigation. “Hug you all’s loved ones tonight,” the woman said in the video. “Hold the people you hold close tonight because I never thought I would really say this and mean this. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. It’s not guaranteed for you. It’s not guaranteed for me, so if we leave with a message of just love who you love. Let go of those … family grudges. Let go of those friend grudges. Just let go … because your family may not be here tomorrow.”
Assistant Police Chief Hector Velez said at Saturday’s news conference the crime was difficult for investigators, too. Counselors were on hand to help the police and others who had to respond to the grisly scene. On Saturday, red crime scene tape still wrapped around the carport of the brick home where the girls were killed. Pink Barbie curtains draped a window inside the home, which remained sealed under police custody.
“Incidents like these are not easy to handle,” Velez said. “As parents, aunts, uncles and siblings of young children, it hurts us as well. Our initial thought is to want to hug our children, but we know we have to put those feelings aside and remain steadfast in finding who the killer is and telling the story that these three children can not tell.” The shock of the crimes continued to rattle the community.
“This is one of the most difficult that our officers have arrived on,” Donelan said. Camri Thomas, 23, arrived at the home on Saturday afternoon to drop off flowers at the growing memorial of pink and yellow bouquets at the family’s mailbox.
By late morning on Friday, residents in the neighborhood were learning about the deaths. Neighbor James Pinkney called it “earthshaking news.” Thomas said she didn’t know the family but Clinton is a tightknit community horrified at the violence that cut short the lives of three promising little girls.
“This is horrific,” Pinkney said. Pinkney said he would stay home from work Friday, worried about leaving his 13-year-old daughter home alone as police searched for suspects. “For three young girls to be murdered like that is heartbreaking,” Thomas said. “We have been thinking about it all day. We haven’t been sleeping.”
“My heart is heavy,” said a choked up Pinkney. “How could you live with yourself committing such an evil act?” Next door neighbors Marjorie and Middleton Russell remained in shock Saturday morning.
“What can you say?” Marjorie Russell said. “They were here and happy and going and the next thing there’s tragedy.”
Marjorie Russell said the children came out every morning to play, and enjoyed being outside wading in the swimming pool or bouncing on a trampoline. The family had only moved in this summer, she said.
“They were loud but they were loud because they were happy,” Marjorie Russell said.
As the community continued to understand the violence, a question continued to hang.
“I just want to know.” Marjorie Russel said, “Why?”
Keith Alexander and Peter Hermann contributed to this report.