Mom uses dull knife to cut son’s throat, then sharpens it downstairs, MN cops say

A woman accused of slitting her son’s throat gave deputies an ominous warning while in handcuffs, Minnesota authorities say.

“Don’t take them off,” said the 34-year-old woman, who told Pennington County deputies her inner demons instructed her to kill her children, according to a statement of probable cause filed July 22. 

All of the woman’s children, including the boy whose throat was sliced, were unharmed following the July 20 incident in Thief River Falls, authorities said. 

McClatchy News is not naming the mother to protect the identity of her children. 

While in a hospital, the woman told officers she woke up that morning and had “demons inside of her that took over,” according to court documents. She said the demons were named “Bondage” and “Infirmity.”

The demons made her eat dog feces, then she cut open the head of their sick duck that had died the previous day and ate one of its eyes, deputies said.

“(The woman) indicated she did not want to hurt her children, but ‘they’ made her grab a knife from the kitchen and go up to the room of her son,” according to deputies. “(She) said ‘they’ wanted her to drink his blood, and that ‘they’ told her to kill the rest of the children, her husband when he got home from work, and herself.”

She slit her son’s throat, but because the knife was dull, it did not penetrate his skin, according to the court documents. Then, the demons “told her to go downstairs to sharpen the knife,” she said.

After sharpening the knife and beginning to walk back upstairs, she was met by her children, who she said were “freaking out,” investigators said. 

The mom said she attempted to drop the knife but was unable to do so, deputies said. She told her kids to leave, giving them the keys to her vehicle. 

Deputies were called to the home by her husband, who received a call from his wife indicating her demons told her to kill their children, according to investigators.

The children were discovered safe in the car, authorities said.

“(The mom) reported that this is the first time she has heard these voices for this long, that she has never wanted to hurt her children before, and that she cannot control the voices,” according to the court documents. “(She) stated she thought everyone was going to die.”

She was charged with second-degree attempted murder without intent and second-degree assault, court records show.

Thief River Falls is about a 300-mile drive northwest from Minneapolis. 

This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Mom uses dull knife to cut son’s throat, then sharpens it downstairs, MN cops say."