Mother slayed children

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Police believe a woman may have been unstable due to narcotics or a pill overdose, which led her to allegedly stabbing her kin.

Chanthy Mao, also known as Sotheary Mao, 27, is believed to have slashed her 12-year-old daughter, Savanna, and 8-year-old son, Savann, multiple times in the chest inside the middle bedroom of their first-floor apartment on the 1700 block of South 18th Street, according to police.

Police received a radio call for a person with a weapon and a disturbance at the location at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Chief Inspector Scott Small said at the crime scene. Twenty minutes later police entered the dwelling to find the siblings, who were pronounced dead at the scene. The children’s grandmother was also inside the home upon police arrival.

“She may have been the one to discover the children,” Small said of the suspect’s mother.

The kids were still inside the home as of 8 p.m., but police transported the mother to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to be checked out.

“Based on her behavior we believe she may be under the influence of something,” Small said.

The woman supposedly told police that she was responsible for stabbing and killing her own children, Small said.

“Her behavior was bizarre. Her behavior seemed to be a little unusual. … Not in a violent way,” Small said of how responding police described the woman.

Mao was charged with two counts of murder and one count of possession of an instrument of crime Thursday.

Residents sat on their steps and gathered outside the yellow caution tape as police gathered evidence. William Bradshaw did not know the family, but saw them in passing previously.

“I think that’s horrible,” the resident who lives across the street from the fatal incident said.” This is the first murder I ever heard of on this block. This has always been a nice neighborhood. Kids being murdered – that’s deep.

“I seen the husband come home. He was crying.”

Bruce Jennings, who lives a few doors up, wasn’t familiar with his neighbors either aside from seeing them walking to the store and Laundromat. He learned of the tragedy as he came home from work.

“You don’t want to know what I think. I’m a father,” the dad of a 6- and 9-year-old said.

Contact Managing Editor Amanda L. Snyder at asnyder@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.

Also in this week’s Police Report:

Taxi, please
Register ripoff
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A fashionable filcher
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Hooray for heroes
Reward available

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