A woman and four children were found stabbed to death in a home Wednesday in a crime that shocked police even in a city that has more than 400 murders a year.
“It’s probably the worst thing I’ve seen in 21 years of law enforcement,” said Executive Deputy Chief Benny Napoleon. “Whoever did this is obviously a very vicious person.”
Late Wednesday, police had a 22-year-old suspect in custody who had known the woman for more than a year. Napoleon said the suspect has a criminal record that includes robbery, assault and drug convictions.
Napoleon said that the bodies were discovered close together, and that there were no signs of a struggle and nothing appeared to be stolen.
The victims were identified as Yolanda Bellamy, 21; her two sons, Nathan Burns Jr., 5, and Nathan Burns III, 3; and her niece and nephew, Shafontah Bellamy, 3, and Delvontay Bellamy, 5.
A woman believed to be the mother of the Bellamy children found the bodies late Wednesday morning, Napoleon said.
The family lived in a duplex in a lower-middle-class neighborhood with neat lawns and many children but a mixed reputation for safety.
