A mother in St. Petersburg, Florida, has been arrested after she was accused of suffocating her 4-year-old son to death.
Officers with the St. Petersburg Police Department were called to a property off Tanglewood Drive Northeast around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 27. Upon their arrival, they found that 4-year-old Finley Cullom had died and initially believed that he was stabbed to death, according to WFLA and Fox 13 Tampa Bay.
The victim’s 16-year-old sister contacted police after she found her brother’s body. “She walked into the house, she sees blood everywhere, she sees her 4-year-old brother,” St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway told WFLA.
Also during the visit to the home, authorities found Finley’s mother, Diana Cullom, injured with stab wounds “throughout her body.”
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Diana, 43, was transported to a hospital for treatment and later spoke to investigators.
“We don’t know if they’re self-inflicted, but right now, for what will be from evidence, it looks like the mom stabbed the baby,” Holloway said.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Diana was officially arrested on Wednesday, January 28, and was charged with murder in the first degree, per WFLA.
While authorities originally believed that Finley was stabbed to death, medical examiners have since determined that there were no stab wounds on the child. Instead, it’s now believed that the child was suffocated.
Holloway said during a press conference that a knife and a note were found at the crime scene, which were believed to have belonged to the mother. However, it is not currently clear what the note said.
The events leading up to the incident have not yet been revealed, while Diana’s mental health history has also not been publicly disclosed.
Officials also confirmed that Finley’s father was not home at the time of the incident, according to Fox 13. However, Holloway said that the boy’s father has been notified and spoke to investigators shortly after his son’s death.
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Before Diana was arrested, investigators spoke to neighbors on the evening of December 27 as they worked to obtain an arrest warrant. According to the police chief, detectives were “looking at everything” in order to determine exactly what happened to lead to the child’s death.
Holloway has since confirmed that the home does not have a history of making calls to 911 for service.
Diana is currently in custody, according to online cort records viewed by Us Weekly. It is not yet known if she has entered a plea or retained legal representation following her arrest.
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The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment.
While speaking to the press, Holloway acknowledged that the young boy’s death made an impact throughout the community.
“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. And then you’re having a father here,” the officer said. “So right now everyone in the neighborhood, everybody’s heart is heavy.”