PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida Panhandle woman accused of fatally stabbing her son and injuring her daughter has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge.
The Pensacola News Journal reports that Janel Charlene Francis was formally charged by an Escambia County grand jury on Thursday. A grand jury indictment is required for prosecutors to seek the death penalty, though it’s not yet clear if they will.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office says deputies responded to the Pensacola mobile home complex last month after neighbors heard screaming. Deputies found 18-year-old Devan Francis dead and 24-year-old Gabrielle Torrence bleeding profusely.
Authorities say the older woman’s grandchildren, ages 4 and 5, witnessed the attack.