Mom Realizes Her 12 YO Daughter is Actually the Killer

🔪 A Night of Chaos in Tulsa

The incident began just before midnight on January 5, 2023, in Tulsa’s St. Thomas Square neighborhood. The mother, April Laida, called 911 because her nine-year-old son, Xander Laida, was bleeding badly. When police arrived, the scene was one of total chaos. Xander was barely conscious, having suffered three stab wounds to his chest. His 12-year-old sister was found nearby, crying hysterically, apologizing repeatedly, and cooperating with the police. The young girl, whom police did not name due to her age, was immediately restrained.

In her extreme distress, the girl claimed she threw the knife out of her upstairs window, stating that the whole event felt “demonic” and expressing intense guilt: “I don’t know what happened. This is some demonic stuff. I’m so sorry.” April, the mother, was forced to make an agonizing choice: stay with her arrested daughter or rush to the hospital with her gravely injured son. She chose to go with Xander, leaving her daughter in the custody of the police.

The Daughter’s Confusion and Crying

Sitting in the patrol car, the 12-year-old was inconsolable, constantly asking if she was going to jail and if her brother would live. She appeared profoundly confused, telling the officer, “I don’t know why I did it.” She even spoke about her math teacher returning to school, a seemingly random topic that suggested a desperate attempt to retreat to a place of normalcy and safety.

The girl also had a number of old, self-inflicted cuts on her forearms, suggesting a history of emotional distress that long preceded the stabbing.

Contradictory Accounts

The accounts of the incident immediately raised flags for the detectives.

The Mother’s Version: April claimed she was woken up by Xander’s screaming. He was downstairs and said, “She stabbed me,” before slipping in and out of consciousness. April stated she couldn’t find her daughter initially and that the girl had run away out of fear.

The Daughter’s Version: The daughter suggested she had gone upstairs to wake up April and confessed what she had done.

These minor contradictions suggested that April was actively trying to portray her daughter in the best light possible, perhaps shielding her from the full reality of her actions. April’s subsequent reluctance to sign a search waiver without being present, despite the urgency of the investigation, further complicated the situation.

💔 The Medical and Legal Aftermath

April eventually signed the search waiver after being coaxed by the officer, who assured her the search was not a ruse to find drugs or other illegal items, but simply to complete the crime scene investigation. Shortly after, Xander’s father arrived, and in a devastating moment, April broke down. Xander Laida was pronounced dead at 2:30 AM the next day, succumbing to his wounds.

The Role of Medication

Following the tragedy, April attempted to assign blame to the daughter’s past use of ADHD medication. April claimed her daughter began cutting herself within a month of being on the medication and found it made her irritable and angry, leading April to take her off of it. She suggested the medication could still be affecting the girl’s judgment.

However, mental health professionals quickly dismissed this theory, stating that the medication would have been out of her system and could not have been the trigger months later. Experts suggested the girl might have a different undiagnosed condition, such as bipolar disorder, which can sometimes be mistaken for ADHD in young children, or that the stabbing was the result of building pressure and emotional turmoil, potentially even a fit of rage toward her brother.

The Legal Ramifications

Because the girl was only 12 years old, the legal process was heavily restricted. The Tulsa District Attorney’s Office released very few details, including her specific charges or her interrogation record. Her age provided a shield, protecting her from being automatically moved to adult court, though the severity of the crime—a fatal, brutal stabbing—made the decision complex.

The legal outcome, whatever it may be, cannot undo the permanent damage to the family. Xander, a kind-hearted boy who loved cheese pizza, Fortnite, and spending time with his family, was lost due to an inexplicable, violent act by his own sister.