Florida woman, Leticia Silva, arrested for conspiring to have children murder grandparents when knife found under child’s pillow
A mother is in jail accused of plotting to get her daughters to murder their grandparents.
Leticia Silva
Leticia Silva, 31, of Lakeland, Florida, is said to have mailed a switchblade pocket knife to the girls, aged seven and nine, last December with instructions for them to use it to murder her former in-laws in Greenville, North Carolia.
She is alleged to have then called them around Christmas and told them to grab a steak knife from the kitchen to kill their grandparents.
Silva lost custody of her children seven years ago after she was arrested in Florida for possession of methamphetamines and sent to prison, NBC reported. Her young daughters have lived their grandparents during this time, having total custody.
The murder plot went awry after the childrens’ grandmother found the knife under one of the girl’s pillows in early February, according to Wallace. That’s when the grandmother brought both girls to the sheriff’s office, where they informed investigators that their mother told them to use the blade to kill their grandparents.
An investigation is underway and police won’t speculate on Silva’s motives.
Silva turned herself in to police on Monday. She was charged with four counts of solicitation to commit murder and is being held on a $5 million bond.
