Detectives: Olympia mom slashed her children's throats because she wanted them to stop crying

OlYMPIA -- It’s an unthinkable crime, a mother accused of slitting the throats of her three young children.

Police say Christina Booth, 29, early Sunday morning slashed her 2-year-old daughter’s throat, then did the same to her 6-month-old twins.

Authorities say Booth called 911 after trying to kill her kids.

“My babies won’t calm down, I`ve breastfed them, I`ve formula fed them, they are not calming down,” said Booth.

Police say her husband then got on the phone.



The father is heard saying the kids were bleeding and needed immediate care.

During the 911 call, the couple never says that Booth hurt the kids but court documents state the mom admitted to slashing her kids' throats with a kitchen knife after reaching a breaking point.

Detectives say the mom wanted to stop her babies from crying. Documents state the mom had two glasses of wine before the incident.

On Monday, prosecutors told a judge that alcohol may have played a role in the crime and said they had severe concerns that Booth was a danger to herself and her kids.

The judge set her bail at $3 million.

People who know the family are traumatized.

“You don`t think someone of her nature, a really giving person, a loving mother, would snap,” neighbor Kim Harris said.

Harris says it feels like a nightmare. Her thoughts are with the children -- all now in protective custody.

“There are no words to describe what they are going through,” Harris said.

In separate interviews, detectives said the mother claimed her husband didn’t help with the kids and she had to take them out of his sight when they cried.

Detectives say the father said his wife was on medication for postpartum depression.

During the end of the 911 call you can hear the mother breaking down. “I don`t want to lose them, I don`t want them to die, I don`t want them to die,” Booth said.

Thurston County officials say the father is a soldier at JBLM. They say the couple made inconsistent statements, but they don’t anticipate charging the father with any crime at this point.