GRAPHIC: Mother charged in fatal stabbing of 5-year-old daughter in Chicago

CHICAGO (WBBM) - A Chicago mother is being held without bail on a first-degree murder charge after police say she repeatedly stabbed her 5-year-old daughter in the neck, killing her.

Simone Austin, 27, is charged with first-degree murder after police say they found her daughter, 5-year-old Serenity Arrington, lying along the sidewalk and bleeding from the neck Saturday in front of her Chicago home.

At a Monday bond hearing, prosecutors said Austin was at home the morning of Serenity’s death with the little girl and her 8-year-old sister. She allegedly told the sister to leave the room, pulled a knife out from underneath a pillow and repeatedly stabbed Serenity in the neck as her sister watched from the keyhole in the door.

Prosecutors say she then laid Serenity out in front of the house, and when police and fire personnel arrived, she told them she did it and that she was sorry. The 8-year-old was screaming “her mommy killed her little sister,” too.

“Keep that child in your thoughts and prayers because obviously, this will be extremely difficult for the rest of her life,” said Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan.

The 8-year-old told detectives about a previous incident where her mom was allegedly walking around with a knife because the girls had spilled some eggs on the porch.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services had been called to the home in the past, but the details were not immediately available.

“We’ve had previous calls there for domestic violence, where the mother was the victim of domestic violence, and other people in the family have called,” said Police Superintendent David Brown.

The children’s grandfather lives in the same apartment. At the time of Serenity’s death, he was out getting coffee.

Austin has no criminal background. She is being held without bail before her next hearing on Oct. 19.

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