Mother charged with murder in deaths of her four children

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A mother killed four of her children by cutting their throats and sheriff’s deputies found a large butcher knife with what appeared to be blood on it in an apartment were the killings took place, according to court documents filed Saturday.

Shanynthia Gardner, 29, of Memphis, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder while committing aggravated child neglect in the deaths of her three daughters and one son — all under the age of 5. Their bodies were found after deputies entered her apartment in a gated community in unincorporated Shelby County on Friday.

Gardner also faces four counts of first-degree murder while committing aggravated child abuse; four counts of aggravated child neglect or endangerment; and four counts of aggravated child abuse. She is being held without bond, with an arraignment scheduled Tuesday.

An affidavit filed in Shelby County court by a sheriff’s detective identified the victims as 4-year-old Tallen Gardner; 3-year-old Sya Gardner; 2 year-old Sahvi Gardner; and 6-month old Yahzi Gardner. A fifth child, 7-year-old Dallen Gardner, fled the apartment and escaped the attack, the affidavit said.

Gardner spoke by phone to her husband, Martin Gardner, and acknowledged that she killed her children, the affidavit said. Attempts to reach him or relatives of the Gardners have been unsuccessful.

“This is a terrible act, an egregious act that has shocked, I believe, the community, and has shocked our staff to the core,” Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham said Saturday. He did not release a suspected motive for the attack.

Deputies were called to an apartment complex in unincorporated Shelby County on Friday afternoon. When they arrived at Shanynthia Gardner’s apartment, they found her with superficial cuts to her neck and wrists, the affidavit said. Deputies also found four children with “severe lacerations to the throat,” the document said.

Two children were found in the living room — Yahzi was in her baby carrier and Sya was lying next to the carrier. The other two victims were in a bedroom.

The affidavit said Dallen was able to escape the apartment and run up to a man, yelling that his mother had stabbed his sister.

The man told officers that he saw Shanynthia Gardner come outside with a large knife in her hand, then re-enter the residence. Deputies found the knife in the apartment, the affidavit said.

Authorities have not divulged what circumstances they believe led to the killings. Oldham said investigators were trying to determine if Gardner has mental health problems.