Texas mother accused of stabbing her 2 young children, husband was going through postpartum depression, husband says: Affidavit

The husband of a Texas mother accused of stabbing her young children — ages 3 years and 10 months — and him early Tuesday morning told police she was going through postpartum depression at the time, WFAA-TV reported, citing a newly released arrest affidavit.

The husband also was concerned about her behavior before the stabbing, the station said, citing the affidavit.

The husband ‘was trying to get to the children, but the children were in another room, and she was actively trying to stab him.’

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Holly Leeann Flores, 37, was taken into custody and booked into the Denton County Jail on preliminary charges of attempted capital murder (two counts) and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, police told WFAA, adding that bond for each of the attempted capital murder charges has been set at $1,000,000; bond has not been set for the aggravated assault charge.

WFAA, citing an arrest affidavit the station said it obtained, sait arriving officers saw Flores’ husband — Justin Hommel — standing in the home’s driveway holding a knife; there was blood on his head. Hommel immediately dropped the knife, WFAA said, and officers entered the home, found Flores, and detained her.

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Police told WFAA the injured were:

• A 34-year-old man, who suffered head injuries
• A 3-year-old girl, who suffered a stab wound to the chest
• A 10-month-old boy, who suffered a stab wound to the chest

Hommel and the children were taken to a Fort Worth hospital, the station said, adding that Flores was taken to a Denton hospital for observation and possible injuries — and once she was treated and released, she was sent to jail.

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The station said audio of the emergency radio traffic was posted on the scanner-monitoring site Broadcastify, and it captured a dispatcher relaying the initial report: “Caller stated wife is stabbing husband, stabbed in the head. … Female is turning on gas stove in the house. There are children in the house.” Police have not said if the report about the stove was confirmed, WFAA noted.

In a 911 call, Hommel is heard asking his wife amid the attack if this is a “postpartum thing,” the station added.

Police said they responded to five other calls at the home since March, WFAA said, adding that the arrest affidavit indicates police confirmed they previously had responded to the home multiple times for welfare concerns and overdoses.

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More from WFAA:

In an interview with police, Hommel told police that his wife was recently struggling with postpartum depression and that her behavior has recently changed. Due to his concerns, he planned to sleep on a couch to be closer to his children.

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The knife “freaked him out” and he attempted to enter the room; however, Holly was able to close the door on him, and he went back to sleep, the affidavit states.

The station said that Hommel told police that he awoke later that evening to sounds of his children crying in their bedroom and knocked on the door.

WFAA, citing the affidavit, said that when Flores opened the door, she was holding the knife and began attacking him, after which Hommel was able to wrestle the knife away from her. The station said officers observed bite marks on his arm, indicating a struggle.

(*) Full article: https://www.theblaze.com/news/texas-mother-accused-of-stabbing-her-2-young-children-husband-was-going-through-postpartum-depression-husband-says-affidavit