A North Carolina man, Tillman Freeman III, has been arrested on two counts of first-degree murder for allegedly stabbing his 4-day-old and 2-year-old daughters to death, local authorities report.
On Friday, March 24, Freeman, 30, was booked on two counts of child endangerment as well as two counts of child abuse, following the disappearance of the children while their mother — whose name has not been disclosed — was at a hospital, the Fayetteville Observer and the Hoke Country Sheriff’s Office say.
Meanwhile, Hoke County Sheriff Hubert Peterkin told the local paper that the girls were discovered on Saturday, March 25, around 2 a.m. Per reports, their lifeless bodies were found inside an abandoned car parked in a wooded area in the Raeford area, about 35 minutes outside of Fayetteville.
“It was horrific,” Peterkin told the Fayetteville Observer of the girls who appeared to have been stabbed multiple times with some sort of hunter’s knife. “From what our investigation’s telling us they had a dispute, where [Freeman] allegedly made accusations about the babies not being his, a child not being his or maybe her involvement with someone, and when he took the kids we understand he left in a rage,” Peterkin told ABC 11.
“It’s kind of hard to find the words to describe what this feels like,” Peterkin continued. “I know people read it, I know people see the story and hear about it, but to be out here on the scene and actually see this stuff, to see these children lifeless and brutally stabbed…”
“I don’t care how many years you’ve been in it. How many times you’ve been in it or seen things, this was not a good experience,” he explained. “Everybody’s taking this real hard. Our heart goes out to the family, to the mother.”
“I feel sad and hurt, but there’s nothing I can do about it,” a relative of the deceased told ABC 11.
As for Freeman, there has been no word as to whether he’s entered a plea deal.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to these sweet angels’ loved ones. Share your condolences in the comment section below.
