ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WXYZ) — The woman who is charged with the deadly stabbing of an elderly man in Royal Oak will be held in jail without bond.
Watch Simon Shaykhet's video report:
According to police, the stabbing happened on Friday, around 9:30 p.m., inside a home in the 4300 block of Sheridan Drive. That's just west of Woodward Avenue and north of Normandy.
Police arrived at the home and found the 35-year-old woman with blood on her hands. She was detained after a brief foot pursuit and removing her clothes, police said.
When they got inside the home, they found the 83-year-old man with multiple stab wounds in the basement. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect was identified as Samantha Rae Booth, and the victim as David Ong.
According to police, Ong's daughter, who owned the home, contacted him and asked him to check on the welfare of his granddaughter, who was under the care of her nanny while she was out of town.
Ong arrived at the home, but police say he failed to update his daughter. Then, the homeowner called her brother-in-law and asked him to check on her father and the child.
Around 9:25 p.m., the brother-in-law arrived at the home and heard noises coming from the basement.
He told police he encountered Booth in a manic state, covered in blood and making incriminating comments, and his father-in-law lying on the floor with severe injuries.
The brother-in-law picked up the child and tried to escape the home, and had to fend off attacks from the Booth until he was able to escape.
Police say Booth continued to pursue the man and his niece while armed with a screwdriver, and eventually, they were able to shelter inside a neighborhood home.
Prosecutors say the family had known Booth for two years and she had previously cared for the child without incident.
She reportedly seemed normal at the start of the day and into the afternoon, and officers had located suspected psychedelic mushrooms and marijuana in the suspect's purse.
Booth is facing six charges, including first-degree murder and second-degree child abuse.
“When you start dealing with natural products like mushrooms, there are so many different chemicals that can be there. They can make you frightened, paranoid, aggressive or withdrawn, and there's no telling what you get. To run out in public with no clothes on, that's very disorganized behavior that's most consistent with intoxication with a hallucinogen,” mental health expert Dr. Gerald Shiener said.
A judge remanded her to jail after the arraignment on Tuesday.
“Mom in this case did what she was supposed to do. This person was allegedly trusted and known to this family and there was nothing in her appearance or background that mom knew about,” Prosecutor Karen McDonald said.
