SALEM - When police found the woman they say had slashed the throats of her two young children, they did not have to go far: The 25-year-old mother had walked to the Police Department, smashed a glass display case in the lobby, and collapsed there, with blood and lighter fluid staining her clothing, prosecutors said.
“I did what I had to do to protect my children,’’ she told police several times. “I’m sorry.’’
Wearing a light-blue hospital smock, Goodwin appeared disoriented and asked for a court-appointed lawyer. She was ordered held without bail.
In recent weeks, the state Department of Children and Families had been in direct contact with Goodwin, her children, and other professionals working with the family, said Cayenne Isaksen, a spokeswoman for the department. She said none of those professionals expressed concern for the children’s safety....
Another neighbor, who also lived on the same floor as Goodwin, had a different view. “There was something wrong with that girl,’’ said the woman, who asked not to be identified. “She did not seem to like children.’’
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So that is what passes for a pointy hat these days, huh?
"Family members had different opinions on whether boy should be returned to mother who allegedly slashed her throat" by Martine Powers | Globe Staff, March 20, 2012
Family members said today they had different opinions on whether a small boy should have been returned to the Salem mother who allegedly slashed his and his sister’s throats on Sunday.
Wayne Cox, 62, cousin of Tanicia Goodwin, 25, had custody of her son, Jamaal, from 2007 to 2010. It was a mistake, he said, to return the boy to his mother’s care. She had a history of violent behavior, he said, and did not have the skills necessary to be a good parent.
“If you paid attention, all the warning signs were there since she was a teenager,” Cox said
“I believe that the courts are so busy trying to be politically correct that they are not listening, and kids are getting hurt,” Cox said.
Cox’s sister, Deborah Cox, said she, on the other hand, had pushed for the boy to be returned to his mother because she wanted the family to be together. She said she had no indication Goodwin could have been dangerous toward her children.
“If that had been a fleeting thought in my mind, I never would have sanctioned or supported it,” Cox said.
Cox said she believed her cousin was mentally ill and that the crime was not premeditated. She hopes Goodwin will be placed in a psychiatric hospital.
“I know she’s not sophisticated enough to conjure this up,” Cox said. “I know she had to be so far in hell to do this.”
Both Wayne and Deborah Cox were interviewed by reporters in front of Deborah’s Dorchester home today.
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Updates: Salem fire chief describes rescue of slashing victims
The case for orphanages
Mother accused of brutal attack is hospitalized for evaluation
Also see: Salem witch trial indictment sold to collector; document charges Margaret Scott with ‘witchcraft and sorceries’
Notes from Lizzie Borden trial revealed
