A Florida mother is in custody after her daughter returned home from school to find her holding the body of the teen’s four-year-old brother.
Diana Cullom, 43, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Finley Joseph Cullom, who was strangled to death, according to St. Petersburg police.
Cullom’s 16-year-old daughter, who has not been named, made the horrific discovery when she arrived at the family’s home on Tuesday.
Officers were called to the residence on Tanglewood Drive NE around 3:30 p.m., where they found the deceased child and blood on the bed and throughout the house.
Initial reports suggested the child had been stabbed. However, the medical examiner later determined there were no stab wounds on the boy and that he had been suffocated, police said.
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Cullom, however, had suffered stab wounds. She was taken to Bayfront Hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening.
St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said at a Tuesday press briefing that a knife and a note were found inside the home.
“It is our belief that the note was left by mom,” Holloway said. The contents of the note have not been disclosed.
Cullom was released from the hospital overnight and taken into custody early Wednesday morning. Police said her stab wounds were self-inflicted. She has been charged with first-degree murder.
The children’s father was not home at the time of the incident, Holloway said, adding that he was later notified and has spoken with the authorities. Investigators said there was no prior history of 911 calls at the home.
“There is no history of calls for service at the home,” Holloway said. “We’re looking at everything.”
The circumstances leading up to the boy’s death remain under investigation.
“A lot of these officers, they have kids, and then you have the 16-year-old who’s coming home from school and finding her brother and her mother,” Holloway said.
“And then you’re just having a father come here. So right now in the neighborhood, everybody’s heart is heavy.”
