© Via YoutubeDetroit children found dead and frozen in freezer. The bodies were wrapped in plastic bags. Police were in the process of evicting a family when they made this discovey. The children's mother is now under arrest.
The two surviving children, ages 11 and 17, knew their siblings were inside the freezer — one for nearly two years — two police sources told The News.
The woman, Mitchelle Blair, told detectives she killed her 11-year-old son two years ago, and her 14-year-old daughter in May 2014, after finding out about the sexual abuse, two sources said.
The Detroit News is not disclosing the identity of the relative who was allegedly molested in order to protect the victim's identity.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig briefly discussed the case during a press conference Wednesday morning at police headquarters. Craig said he couldn't go into great detail about the case because the investigation is active.
"While the desire to know what happened in that home is strong, I will ask you to be mindful of the two children who were in that home and are still alive," Craig said to reporters.
"They've been through a lot as you can imagine. It's been a tremendous trauma. I don't think there's anyone in this room who would want to cause any additional pain to these children."
Craig said detectives will present an investigative report to the office of the Wayne County Prosecutor for review.
Wayne County medical examiners are waiting for the bodies to thaw before performing autopsies to determine the cause of death, spokesman Ryan Bridges said.
© Via FacebookMichelle Blair
Although police are awaiting autopsy results to determine the cause of death, sources said it appears the boy died of strangulation and the girl from blunt-force trauma.
Police sources said Blair is being held on suspicion of child abuse, and they will await a cause of death before seeking murder charges.
Blair was arrested Tuesday in the Martin Luther King apartments on the city's near east side, where court bailiffs discovered the bodies while removing the freezer from the woman's townhouse after Blair was ordered evicted for nonpayment of rent.
Blair has not been charged with the killings, although police planned to submit a warrant request to prosecutors, sources said.
Blair's Facebook profile declared: "Loyal to my babies." One recent post was of the words: "There is no greater blessing than being called Mom."
"This is so tragic," said neighbor Tori Childs. "I know she really flew off the handle when she found out (the relative) was being molested."
Childs said she saw the children's bodies inside the home Tuesday shortly after police arrived.
"When we walked past, we saw two bodies on the floor," said Childs, 33. "It was a little girl and a little boy. The little girl had on a pink jacket."
Childs said Blair told her, "I'm sorry" before police took her away in handcuffs.
Childs' mother, Carrie McDonald, also lives in the complex and said she spoke by phone Tuesday morning with Blair.
"She told me this morning, 'Ms. Carrie, if you don't never see me again just know that I love you,' " McDonald said. "I love her. The mother is a beautiful person. She was just going through some things."
Neighbors said when they asked about the two missing children, Blair told them they were living with an aunt. They also said Blair home-schooled her children; Detroit Public Schools officials said there was no record of the children ever enrolling in the district.
Holly Fournier contributed.
"The mother is a beautiful person. She was just going through some things."
With neighbors like that, I'm not surprised by this act of hers, as she seems so ''loyal to [her] babies" and who feels that ''there is no greater blessing than being called mom". Should we just call it overstressed being that she lives in Detroit and decided to homeschool her kids? How about the stress of her other children knowing their brother and sister were killed by mom and put in the freezer?
If she was that stressed out, she obviously needed to learn how to ask for help and to whom, obviously the 'authorities' cannot usually be trusted with that these days, if ever. I hear no word of any father, grandparents etc at the apartment? Interesting that she had a freezer, but then that depends on the circumstances of how it got there and why... could have been left in the apt by previous tenant. She was being evicted, so we know she had problems with money, but if on govt aid(or addiction), then maybe there was another problem? Sort of reminds me of OJ, if not for keeping those bodies there in the freezer.... WHY? Temporary insanity is temporary, was this another Ira Einhorn situation? Interesting in that regard. Well, her neighbor was right about her 'going through some things'.... which makes me think her other two kids must be going through the same for the last couple of years. I wonder if there's a family history of this behavior that the kids now inherit? Perhaps a karmic link? or challenge? Is this neighbor the only one who seems to be downplaying the event to support the mother? She could have found herself among similar reflections in that environment which would only feed the problem, not solve it.