I think we’ll see more of these cases, don’t we? Mothers going nuts, killing their kids, and likely trying to claim mental illness to avoid severe punishment. That’s not how this works. Mothers didn’t become mentally ill at epidemic levels overnight. We can’t say this is the Lindsay Clancy effect, but would it shock you if it were? Either way, these two cases are horrific: two instances of Texas moms killing their kids. One was over a custody issue, and the other’s motive is still unclear.
In Texas, a mother, Cibelle Savella, 35, had recently lost a custody battle with her ex-husband. Instead of handing her over, she killed her 4-year-old daughter before turning the gun on herself (via NY Post):
A Texas mom shot dead her 4-year-old daughter in a murder-suicide just hours after losing a custody battle with the girl’s dad.
Cibelle Savella, 35, was supposed to hand over her daughter, Vivian, to her ex-husband, Aaron Savella, on Tuesday night – but instead shot her dead in her $824,000 Houston home and then turned the gun on herself, ABC13 reported.
“There was a custody hearing earlier today that didn’t go well for the mother,” Houston Police Lieutenant Larry Crowson said.
[…]
Savella, originally from Brazil, divorced Aaron in November 2024 after just four years of marriage, leading to a bitter legal battle over their daughter.
[…]
In her latest loss just eight hours before the murder-suicide, the mom was banned from speaking to her daughter in her native Portuguese unless one of the supervisors could speak the language, the Mail reported, citing the filing.
The mom was also banned from attending any school performances and extracurricular activities, ordered to pay child support to her ex and cover 50% of any out-of-pocket medical expenses.
It was not immediately clear why Savella lost custody and was hit with such stringent restrictions over her daughter.
This is evil. It’s indescribable. Now, this might not have Clancy vibes, though Ms. Savella likely cracked over the conditions, but this other case, also in Texas, reeks of it, as another mother, Colleen Lemmon, 42, shot and killed both her sons before slashing her wrists (via NY Post):
A North Texas mother allegedly opened fire on her two young sons inside a mobile home, killing both before attempting to take her own life, authorities said Friday.
Ellis County Sheriff’s deputies rushed to the trailer in the 500 block of Big Sky Drive in Waxahachie around 4 a.m. Thursday after Colleen Lemmon, 42, allegedly shot her kids in the head and slit her own wrists, according to police and reports.
“It’s heartbreaking, and I’m praying for them,” neighbor Ida Brown told FOX 4.
“I’m praying for God just to let me understand, you know. There is no understanding, I guess, but it just hurts, and I didn’t even know them and it hurts.”
One victim, 21-year-old Christopher Pitre, was found dead inside the home, while his 15-year-old brother, Brian Pitre, was rushed to an area hospital in critical condition before later dying from his injuries, NBC 5 reported.
Lemmon was slapped with two counts of capital murder and booked into the Wayne McCollum Detention Center in Waxahachie.
Again, the motive is unclear, but given the Clancy case, it wouldn’t shock me if this case were, in particular. In Illinois, the Corie Walsh case, in which a mother killed her 2-year-old son whom she believed was the anti-Christ, also became obsessed with the Clancy case.
