GUILTY TN - Four Gardner children stabbed to death, Memphis, 1 July 2016 *mother arrested*

[JoeFromLB]

I searched Shelby County inmate records and found her.

Some kind of hearing is scheduled for February 12th, this Friday. No further details.

Inmate Lookup Tool

 

[JoeFromLB]

Next Court Date: 03/19/2021 09:00

No other details.

 

[JerseyGirl]

A Shelby County mother accused of killing her four children was scheduled to go to trial Monday. However, that trial was reset until Dec. 14.

Memphis mother’s trial for 2016 murders reset | WREG.com

 

[JerseyGirl]

Trial begins for Memphis mother charged with killing 4 children | localmemphis.com

 

[joe jones]

two theories as to why she did it, defence arguing she thought kids would be stolen, sex trafficked, raped so mother killed then due to her delusions that she was saving them, state arguing she killed them to punish their father who she thought was having affairs,

I do think she was seriously mentally ill, she had all the kids ready to go out when it seems she just attacked and murdered them all, I don't know whether her mental health problems rise to the level of NG by reason of insanity as I have not heard enough yet about what she was diagnosed with and what the experts are saying

 

[joe jones]

Shay Arthur is tweeting from the trial, Dr Resnick is testifying about her mental health issues, seems she was on meds but had stopped taking them, and this Dr testified if she had continued to take her meds he doubts the murders would have happened

 

[joe jones]

closing arguments, trial has whizzed along, prosecution argument is yes she was mentally ill at the time of the murders but she was not so impaired that she did not know what was right or wrong, and that she intended to kill kids to get back at father, (not verbatim)

I think state will argue she was thinking about killing them for a while, she took a picture of her kids at a cemetery on Fathers Day and sent it to him weeks before murders. If she was at cemetery to visit a loved ones grave then I see nothing in the fact she took a picture to send to their dad on fathers day, context is everything, if it was unusual for her to visit cemetery with kids then maybe it could be seen as her sending a warning message to her husband.

 

[joe jones]

From the small amount I have been able to read online about this case I could not dismiss she was legally insane at time of killings, but I have also seen some comments about her husbands testimony and he spoke of her being angry and often accusing him of affairs, which would lead to thinking she may have done it to punish him.

Then again her accusations of him having affairs could also be part of her paranoia, and added to her thinking her kids were going to be stolen and raped she may have not been able to distinguish what was real versus what her paranoid mind version of reality was.

An insanity defence is a hard one to prove so I won't be surprised if she is co9nvicted.

 

[joe jones]

I would have liked to have learned more about what diagnosis she had pre the murders, what effect stopping her meds would have had, I just can't find much information and a lot of the articles are prohibited due to data protection issues in my country.

 

[joe jones]

haven't found any updates yet will keep looking, and once again my common refrain why do some victims get all the attention and others don't, these 4 beautiful children were horrifically murdered by their mother, even if she is found NG by reason of insanity it is still a crime of great magnitude, yet I have to trawl the internet to find news on the trial

 

[joe jones]

Memphis stabbing survivors' father claims killer 'is not the woman I know' | Daily Mail Online

this is an old article but has some lovely pictures of the children, and it is just heart breaking to se the family photo and then know what has happened since,

If I start posting about a crime I follow it to the end, it is my small way of saying I may be just one person posting on the internet but I care, I want for you to be remembered and for your story to be told, especially when the media cherry picks who they think are worthy of their time and attention

 

[joe jones]

'This Is the Work of the Devil': Tennessee Mom Convicted of Murdering Her Four Young Children by Slitting Their Throats

guilty as I expected, I hope she gets treatment for her mental health, I don't have enough information about her mental health problems prior to the murders to say if I agree with the judge or not, she will be sentenced in January 2022,

irrespective of what now happens to her I am just left with such sadness that 4 beautiful children were murdered in such an horrific way, their father must be a broken man, I hope he finds solace and some peace in the memories of his children, and I can't imagine how her only living child lives with what happened, I hope for him he has rebuilt his relationship with his father, and is surrounded by love and care,

 

[JerseyGirl]

Mother found guilty of killing children asks for new trial

Gardner says she should have been found not guilty by reason of insanity for the 2016 stabbing deaths of her four young children.

She’s currently serving a life sentence for the killings.

If her conviction is upheld, she won’t be eligible for parole until she’s served 51 years of the sentence.