SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah (ABC4 News) - Empty threats turned real for a mother in a South Salt Lake home Tuesday afternoon.
A 16-year-old girl is accused of stabbing her 40-year-old mother after a fight about school detention.
Gary Keller, with South Salt Lake Police, said the mother was stabbed three times in the chest with a kitchen knife by the teenager.
ABC4 News Reporter Cristina Rendon spoke exclusively with 13-year-old Latrell Richards, the teenager's sister.
"I was really shocked," Richards said. "I didn't think she would do it because she always talked about it and stuff."
Richards said his sister and mother always fight because his sister refuses to go to detention at school. That argument is the reason his mother is in the hospital and his sister is in jail.
"She always had the knife in the closet or in the dresser hidden in her clothes," Richards said.
Neighbors in the area were shocked. Dale Newland saw a woman trying to help the mother before medics arrived.
"She applied pressure to the wound," Newland said. "I ran into her when her hands were still covered in blood. It was pretty scary."
The incident was also scary for Richards. The boy lives with his aunt, but wishes he was at the house to protect his mother from his sister. He doesn't want to believe what happened.
"I'm just really disappointed," he said.
The teen said it's sad to know a petty argument over school punishment can lead to a much bigger one for his sister.
"I just hope she doesn't do it again," he added.
The teenage girl faces assault charges.
The mother is recovering from surgery. The knife hit a main artery in the woman's arm and the stabbing may leave her with some disabilities, according to family members.
