Teen Stabbed Mom to Death After She Took Her iPhone: Police

A teenage girl is accused of stabbing her mother to death after her iPhone was taken away, police officials said.

The incident took place on Friday afternoon in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Officers from the local police department were called to a home on the 20 block of South Sherman Street after receiving a report about an unresponsive woman.

Officers found the adult woman with multiple stab wounds on her neck and back, with blood flowing heavily from her head. She was pronounced dead at the scene. An 11-year-old boy was also found and had non-life-threatening stab wounds on his back. No knives or other possible weapons were found at the scene, but it was noted that drawers and cupboards had been locked.

Also at the scene was the woman's 13-year-old daughter, who was arrested and charged as an adult with homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, and tampering with evidence. Despite being underage, the girl's name has been disclosed publicly by law enforcement, but Newsweek chose not to name her because of her age. She remains in police custody. The names of the mother and the 11-year-old boy have not been released.

At the scene, officers reported that the girl sounded distraught and remorseful, admitting to killing her mother during an argument broke out after her iPhone was taken away, police said, according to WBRE/WYOU in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. She also said that she left the knife she stabbed her mother with outside a neighbor's house.

Numerous quotes were recorded from her in police reports, including: "I killed my mom and she'll never forgive me if she is alive," "I don't have my phone because my mom took it before our fight," "I'm the reason my mom is dead" and "I don't know how people can do stuff like this and not feel bad about it." The report described her as being filled with "regret, guilt, and self-disgust."

Newsweek reached out to the Wilkes-Barre Police Department via email for comment on Monday morning.

In October 2023, police in Hialeah, Florida, responded to a call from a 13-year-old claiming to have killed his mother. He later admitted to police that he stabbed his mother to death in her bedroom, only feet away from his newborn baby sister in her crib.

Police also found that he took pictures of his dead mother and shared them with friends, admitting to the act to them, as well. He was arrested and charged as a juvenile with second-degree murder.