Midweek Mini | 13-Year-Old Fatally Stabs and Murders Her 7-Year-Old Sister

Love and Murder is sponsored by My lambs in patreon

At around 11:15am on September 28, 2024 in Taylor, Michigan, parents left a 13 year old girl home to babysit her 7 year old sister. By 1pm Taylor Police responded to a 911 call reporting a stabbing. Officers found the 7 year old unresponsive in the bathroom suffering from multiple stab wounds. She was rushed to a local hospital but died of her injuries shortly after. Welcome LaMs. Welcome to Love and Murder, Heartbreak to Homicide, your midweek mini edition. My name is Ky and I will be your host. If you’re new here, welcome and be sure to listen till the end and if you like it, go ahead and subscribe so you don’t miss any more Love and Murder True crime episodes. If you’re a returning LaM, I want to say thank you and I will always say thank you for supporting Love and Murder. I also want to let you know that this episode is sponsored by My LaMs in patreon patreon.com forward/love and Murder if you want to be a supporter of Love and Murder, get bonuses, case extras, play games, quizzes, get to know me more and so much more. Then head on over to our Patreon patreon.com/forward/love and murder and become an exclusive lamb. Right now we do have a sale going on where you get 50% off your first month of any tier. Also, the bonus episode that’s going out this week is about a case of a serial killer, but the way they found out he was a serial killer was very accidental.

Teen allegedly stabbed seven year old Jesse multiple times with a kitchen knife

If you want to hear that, head on over to patreon patreon.com loveandmurder now let’s get back to your Midweek Mini Taylor. Detective Zachary Digiacomo provided details of the attack. The argument allegedly started over a note that the seven year old Jessie Gein Lilliburn, affectionately known as J.J. had left in the bathroom reminding her family to flush the toilet. Basically what some children do. Maybe somebody forgot to flush the toilet. So she left a note which I think is very thoughtful. The note which was taken by the older sister led to a fight in the kitchen during which Jesse accidentally knocked over the trash can. The older sister retreated to her bedroom coming out about 30 minutes later and waited in the bathroom. When her younger sister entered, the teen attacked her using a butcher knife from the kitchen. The teenager stabbed Jesse multiple times when the first weapon quote was not getting the job done. What? That was the quote when the first weapon quote was not getting the job done. So that means somebody said that and uh, I’m guessing the teen Said that anyway, when that wasn’t happening, she got a larger knife, described as a self defense knife that belonged to her mother and continued the attack. In total, Jesse suffered more than 10 stab wounds. After the attack, the 13 year old first called her stepfather and then called 911. When police arrived at the Bana Avenue house, they found the victim unresponsive in the bathtub. Emergency responders transported the 7 year old to a local hospital where medical staff pronounced her dead. Detective Zachary reported that the victim suffered, quote, over 10 stab wounds ranging from the abdomen to the head to the neck. During the subsequent police interview, the teen was cooperative but showed no emotional response and quote, went into detail about the incident. Detective Zachary reported that the parents described only, quote, normal sibling arguments between the girls. Basically nothing like this had ever happened before. You know, they squabble like siblings do. They’ve never gotten into an altercation that looked like they were going to kill each other. So this was something shocking to everyone. Quote, growing up as kids, you argue with your siblings all the time, but it doesn’t lead to this. The parents said that their 13 year old had never caused problems at home or school. Oh my God, I wonder what was going on. They left the children alone that morning, trusting the older sister to watch her siblings, which they had done many times before. Taylor Police Chief John Blair called it the worst case I’ve ever had and added, it’s devastating and it’s shocking. Matthew, who was an acquaintance of the sisters, said, quote, when my grandmother told me, I was horrified because they were best friends even though they were sisters, they would always play together. They had My Little Pony toys and they would play with each other. I wonder what happened because sometimes children can’t regulate their emotions. So if something was really bad going on that the parents even didn’t know about, like when I say bad, I mean really bad. I mean like something happened to her and I don’t want to say anything specific because I don’t know, but I was going to say something happened to her that altered her personality but she felt she couldn’t tell anybody about it. Maybe it happened outside of the home, maybe it happened with somebody that she knew closely. But I’m again, this is just me trying to figure out what happened. I’m not saying anything actually happened to her outside of the house. This is just me trying to figure out because if children are really angry and they’ve been holding in this anger for such a long time, they don’t really know how to regulate their emotions properly or deal with situations properly because, I mean, they’re children, something like this could happen and then it’s just, uh, to everybody it seems like it’s out of the blue, but they don’t know what the child has been going through, you understand? The 13 year old was charged with first degree premeditated murder, felony murder and first degree child abuse. If convicted, the teen could face one of, uh, three sentencing paths. The judge may impose a juvenile sentence, an adult sentence or blended juvenile sentence with the possibility of an adult sentence. This is if rehabilitation proves unsuccessful. Under the juvenile system, the state would have seven years to diagnose, treat and rehabilitate the teen until mandatory release at 21 years old. However, Wayne county prosecutor Kim worthy amended the petition to make the case adult designated. Though this differs from trying the teen as an adult. Quote, there’s absolutely no doubt that the facts in this case are horrific. It is beyond disturbing that the alleged person responsible for the stab and death of her 7 year old sister is 13 years old. Given her young age, the state would have seven years to diagnose, treat and rehabilitate her until her mandatory release at 21. Hopefully then she would not be a danger to others, end quote. This decision reflects a, uh, focus on treatment and rehab rather than purely punitive measures. The juvenile court system provides various rehabilitation programs and treatment options. Youth rehabilitation orders can include requirements such as mental health treatment, which I think she needs. Needs educational programs, supervision requirements and electronic monitoring. The court appointed new legal representation after allowing the previous defense attorney to withdraw from the case. Wow, I m wonder why they withdrew from the case. The prosecutor’s office carefully weighed the options before proceeding with the charges. Considering the defendant’s age and the severity of the crime, detectives believe that mental illness may have played a significant role in the attack, which I agree. I really think something’s going on. While no prior history of violence was reported in the family, the investigation has prompted discussions about the importance of early mental health intervention. A, uh, competency hearing and preliminary examination are scheduled for January 8, 2025. And of course, you know, I’m going to put this in the updates pile so I can keep an eye on it. Superintendent Michael B. Weger said, quote, we know that this will affect others throughout our district and our community beyond the buildings that were immediately affected. We encourage anyone who has been affected by this unspeakable tragedy to reach out for support. Demi Austin Thomas, a certified parenting and family dynamics expert, points to this case as evidence for the importance of active parenting and communication. She recommends several key practices for parents Number one, implementation of, quote, feeling letters for children to express emotions. Number two, close monitoring of behavioral changes and online activity. Number three, immediate professional intervention when mood changes become frequent. Now, I’m going to kind of disagree with Demi here. First of all, I just want to say nobody’s saying that these parents weren’t active parents. As far as I can see in any report, they were really good parents and the children were really good children. But what I disagree with her is this feelings letter. For children to express their emotions, it’s more than likely that maybe they’ll write a letter, uh, and put more in the letter because people feel safer writing something down and handing it to you. However, you have to take into account children. Not thinking back to when I was a child, knowing that my parents will read it anyway. Um, more than likely I still wouldn’t put everything in there. So I don’t agree with that first one. The second one, close monitoring of behavioral changes. Yes, you can monitor as closely as you like, but we’re only humans. We still might miss something. And I agree, immediate professional intervention when mood changes become more frequent. But even that, it’s like when children become teenagers, their mood shifts like crazy. And I don’t think that’s a reason to grab them up and run them to therapy. They’re just going through hormone changes. So again, basically, what it is is watch your kids. That’s it. Like, be vigilant, Watch your kids. And it takes a village. That’s my opinion. But then again, I’m not a certified parenting and family dynamics expert. I’m just a true crime podcaster. Demi continues on to say, quote, if you don’t ask questions and you don’t give your kid an opportunity to express what they’re feeling, then they’re internalizing those things. Which is basically what I was saying.

Demi recommends parents trust their instincts when their child’s behavior is off

Something’s wrong. And I think it was something that she internalized. She emphasized the importance of parents recognizing changes in their child’s behavior, noting that while 24 hour supervision isn’t possible, parents should trust their instincts when, quote, things are off. Which I agree with that statement more than the other key practices that she said. I more agree with that. Jason Lilburn, Jesse’s father and the 13 year old stepfather, remembered his daughter as a vibrant and happy child who loved outdoor activities. He described her as, quote, a ray of sunshine. Always wanted to be outside, always riding her bike. It really pulls at my heart that Jesse’s not with us anymore. The family is now grieving two profound losses, one to death, another to the juvenile system. This is such a sad case. I really feel bad for the 13 year old. It doesn’t sound like a case of, you know, cold blooded premeditated murder or whatever like we usually have. I think this 13 year old was really going through something and she just totally snapped. Like this is just what I think. So I really feel bad for her and I’m sure when she gets better she’s going to feel all kind of remorse as to what she did to her sister. So I mean, this is just a sad case all around. What do y’all think about this case? Do you agree with what I’m saying in terms of I really think something’s going on mentally with this 13 year old. Also, what are your thoughts on Demi’s recommendation for key practices for parents? Do you agree with them or do you have other thoughts on that? Leave your comments below. I want to hear from you. Also, you can record it on your phone. Just go to whatever recording app you have on your phone, record it and then you can hit the share button and share your voice recorded comment by sending it to no conductradiomail.com if you don’t want to record a comment then you can actually just write it out below. Either way, I’d love to hear from you and it will be read out in a future episode. If you want your name to be anonymous, don’t forget to let me know that. And that is all I have for you for this midweek. Mini. Don’t forget to go ahead and check out the December sale we do have going on in our patreon right now. patreon.com Love, uh and murder. Otherwise head on over to our Instagram, choose a clip and go ahead and share it to your Instagram, which is a free and easy way to help out Love and Murder. Thanks for listening and I will see you in the next episode. Bye.