14-year-old Stabs Sister 40 Times

An 11-year-old Illinois girl was stabbed 40 times by her 14-year-old sister, police say, and the reason why has many in the small Chicago-area community of Mundelein reeling in disbelief.

Police found the 11-year-old girl unconscious and in need of medical attention in an upstairs bedroom of the Illinois suburb Tuesday morning. She later died.

The sister, who called police, initially told officers an intruder was to blame for the attack, authorities briefly placed three schools on lockdown.

Except the truth emerged to be even more shocking.

The 14-year-old, authorities say, repeatedly and fatally stabbed the victim – her half sister – with a kitchen knife because the teen though she was ungrateful.

Police received a 911 call about the incident at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. The call came from the 14-year-old girl, said Mudelein Police Chief Eric Guenther. The teen told emergency dispatchers that an intruder had barged into the home, attacked her sister and then fled.

Schools in the area were immediately placed on lockdown, Guenther said. “The area-wide school lockdown lasted only 15 minutes.” He said.

But the teen’s story unraveled quickly. Under police questioning, she admitted to the attack, authorities said. The teen told police she was mad that her sister didn’t appreciate all she did for her, prosecutors said at the suspect’s detention hearing Wednesday.

The teen said she cooked dinner for her younger sibling and performed other chores. She was also angry that the 11-year-old girl had recently hit her.

The night of the attack, the teen though about it for about 10 or 15 minutes, then went downstairs and grabbed a knife, according to prosecutors.

After the stabbing, she took a shower to wash off the blood, called the police and made up the story about the intruder, prosecutors said.

The 11-year-old was found with wounds on her neck, arms and chest, with additional cuts on her face,  including defensive wounds on her hands and bruises on her chest.

The 14-year-old was arrested and is being charged with murder. The case is in juvenile court currently and a decision could be made in the future to move the case to adult court, the Lake County State Attorney’s Office said.

According to those who knew the girls said they lived at the home with their mother. Neighbors said the siblings seemed close. Often the girls were seen playing together practicing cheerleading routines.

“They would always be together,” Mary Ann Gryder, a neighbor told the affiliate.

“The older one would be taking care of the younger one, and vice versa.”

“It’s quite a tragedy,” Mundelein Mayor Steve Lentz told the Chicago Tribune at the press conference. “Please pray for us, first all for the family. . . There’s a lot of grief going on right now.”