A 13-year-old girl in Pennsylvania allegedly stabbed her mother to death in the middle of the day last Friday, telling a news reporter on the scene that she felt “regret, guilt, and self-disgust” as she was handcuffed and brought into a police vehicle.
The suspect, identified publicly as Lataya Powell since being charged as an adult with criminal homicide and other offenses, is accused of repeatedly and fatally stabbing her 44-year-old mother, Tameeka Tucker, in the “torso and head area” and injuring an 11-year-old boy at their Wilkes-Barre home.
The Wilkes-Barre Police Department said they arrived at the scene just after 12:30 p.m. on Good Friday and discovered Powell’s mother “nonresponsive” inside the South Sherman Street residence.
“According to the initial inquiry, the 44-year-old victim had obvious wounds to the body and head and was unresponsive. The scene also revealed the presence of a second victim and the suspect. Police said they took the second victim to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Reports state that the house’s couch contained the injured 11-year-old boy who survived the stabbing incident.
On the other hand, authorities reportedly found the suspect sitting on a bedroom floor with blood on her hands.
According to WBRE/WYOU, investigators allege in an affidavit that Powell acknowledged the victim “took” her phone before their deadly altercation.
“I don’t have my phone because my mom took it before our fight,” and “I don’t know how people can do stuff like this and not feel bad about it,” the 13-year-old allegedly claimed at the scene. She’s also accused of saying, “I’m the reason my mom is dead” and “I killed my mom, and she’ll never forgive me if she’s alive.”
The Citizens’ Voice also quoted Powell saying, “I deserve to be in jail.”
The local news affiliates’ cameras were capturing Powell’s arrest. Reporter Gianna Galli raised a microphone and asked the suspect directly, “Any emotion at all?”
“Regret, guilt, and self-disgust,” Powell was recorded saying.
In addition to homicide charges as an adult, the juvenile offender will also face charges of aggravated assault and evidence tampering.
Powell’s alleged admission of dumping the murder’s knife in front of an adjacent house appears to be the basis for the charge of evidence tampering.
Watch the WBRE/WYOU video of the suspect’s arrest here:
