Contact: Beth Stone – 508-584-8120
BROCKTON – A Brockton woman pleaded not guilty today to charges that she stabbed her two sons to death, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has announced.
Latarsha L. Sanders (DOB: 08/09/74) was arraigned in Brockton District Court on two counts of Murder in the death of her sons, ages five and eight-years-old.
At approximately 12:07 pm Monday, Brockton Police received a 911
call for a medical emergency at 247 Prospect Street. Brockton Fire and emergency medical personnel responded and found Sanders outside the address, distraught and combative. EMS transported Sanders for medical evaluation and Brockton Police proceeded to secure Sanders’s third floor apartment. There, they found the two boys in beds in two separate rooms. The children had each been stabbed multiple times and were determined to be deceased on scene. Brockton Police contacted State Police Detectives assigned to the District Attorney’s Office, and a homicide investigation commenced.
The victims were brothers and have been identified as Edson Brito (DOB: 03/19/09) and Lason Brito (DOB: 08/16/12). The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is performing autopsies to determine the manner and cause of death.
Investigators conducted multiple interviews with people associated
with the victims. Sanders made statements to investigators that could be construed as admissions to the crime, and told police the killings were part of a ritualistic incident. Sanders allegedly cleaned up the children, placed them in beds, and mopped up the crime scene. She never sought medical attention for the boys. State Police located a kitchen knife left in the sink that is believed to be the murder weapon. Sanders was arrested by State Police Monday evening and was arraigned on the Murder charges today in Brockton District Court. She was held without bail and is next scheduled to appear in court on April 9.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Jessica Kenny and Nathaniel Kennedy, and was investigated by State Police Detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and Brockton Police.
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February 6, 2018