UPDATED 11:30 a.m. with medical examiner’s information contradicting earlier police statements.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WWSB) – A 4-year-old boy was found dead in his St. Petersburg home Tuesday and the boy’s mother has been charged with murder, police said.
The St. Petersburg Police Department says they were called to a home shortly after 3:30 p.m. on Tanglewood Drive Northeast.
According to police spokeswoman Yolanda Fernandez, when police arrived, they found a 16-year-old girl, who told them that when she got home from school, she found her mother holding her 4-year-old brother in a bed.
There was blood at the scene and throughout the house, she said.
Police then found the 4-year-old in the arms of his mother, Diana Cullom, 41, who was bleeding from self-inflicted stab wounds, an arrest affidavit released Wednesday said.
On Tuesday, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway told reporters at the scene he was believed the boy had been stabbed to death.
However, Fernandez said Wednesday that the medical examiner had determined that there were no stab wounds on the child.
The medical examiner also said it appears the child had been suffocated, Fernandez said. The affidavit alleges a plastic bag was used to kill the boy.
The mother was transported to Bayfront Hospital due to multiple lacerations. Her injuries were not life-threatening.
After being treated at the hospital, Diana Collum was arrested early Wednesday morning and charged with first-degree murder, Pinellas County Jail records show.
Holloway also said added police found a note on the scene, which they believe was left by the mother.
Previous coverage:
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WWSB) – A 4-year-old boy was found stabbed to death in his St. Petersburg home Tuesday and the boy’s mother has been charged with murder, police said.
The St. Petersburg Police Department says the boy’s body was found in the home by his 16-year-old sister.
The mother, identified as 43-year-old Diana Cullom, was questioned after being treated for multiple stab wounds, and was arrested early Wednesday morning and charged with first-degree murder, Pinellas County Jail records show.
According to officers, the death was reported shortly after 3:30 p.m. in a home on Tanglewood Drive Northeast.
Police Chief Anthony Holloway said the girl arrived home from school, saw her brother stabbed to death and called police.
“She found her 4-year-old brother stabbed, dead,” Holloway said.
Holloway said at the scene that evidence indicates that the mother stabbed the child. Holloway said the mother also had multiple stab wounds. “We don’t know if they’re self-inflicted .. We’re waiting to find out,” he said.
Police added that they found a note on the scene, which they believe was left by the mother.
The father was also being interviewed by police, Holloway said.
.
Copyright 2026 WWSB. All rights reserved.