A Missouri mother was charged in connection to the alleged murder and decapitation of her six-year-old son on February 15.
Kansas City Police were dispatched to the home in Kansas City, Missouri at approximately 11:45 P.M. after 35-year-old Tasha Haefs called 911, court records show.
On the phone, Haefs told police she believed "the devil was trying to attack her," and denied having any mental illness before she hung up the phone, The Kansas City Star reported.
Data published by the Statistica Research Department in early February found that the most common type of abusive relationship is between mother and child. Statistica also found that younger children faced the most abuse, with children less than a year old facing the highest rate of abuse.
When police arrived, they observed hair and blood leading up the front stairs of the home. KCStar reported that police could hear Haefs singing inside and that as they knocked, she began singing louder and refused to open the door.
From outside police were able to see "what appeared to be the severed head of a deceased person."
Officers also learned that several children lived at the residence and had not been seen for several days.
Once officers entered the home they took Haefs into custody without incident. Inside, officers located the decapitated body of a child near the front door and two bloody knives. Haefs also had blood on her hands and feet, according to court records.
Detectives from the Kansas City Homicide Unit were notified and obtained a search warrant for the residence. Inside, detectives discovered a bloody screwdriver on the dining room table and an additional knife in the basement. Detectives also discovered a decapitated dog in the basement, according to documents obtained by KCStar.
From there, the Kansas City Crime Scene Unit was called in to further investigate.
During an interview with detectives, Haefs waived her Miranda Rights and admitted to killing her son in the bathtub before decapitating him.
The Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced in a statement Wednesday that Haefs was charged with Murder in the First Degree and Armed Criminal Action. She is being held on no bond at the Jackson County Detention Center.
"The community now knows some of the terrible details of the death of this 6-year-old child," Baker said. "It takes our breath away. My office, as it always has, pledges to do everything in its power to bring justice in this young boy's murder. We will not shrink from our responsibility."
Baker also said the six-year-old's death "is a call for something more."
In 2020, nearly 2 million children received preventative services after facing abuse or maltreatment, Statistica reported. Baker said the prosecutor's office will review their responses to determine whether or not intervention was missed in this child's case.
Baker said he hopes reviewing their systems will help to prevent any future harm to children requiring state intervention whether that be removing the child from the residence or not.
"Our community must heed the call," Baker said. "Law enforcement, prosecutors, public health officials, social service providers, all of our many partners must work together to address the violence."
