Unamused Cat
August 22nd, 2008, 03:19 AM
Investigators walk around Westwood Village in Roseville, where Sylvia Lynn Sieferman allegedly stabbed her two daughters and then herself on Thursday. (Brandi Jade Thomas, Pioneer Press)
A Roseville woman repeatedly stabbed her two 11-year-old daughters before stabbing herself Thursday at their town home.
Neighbors and friends say financial distress and depression must have set her off. Mounting troubles apparently shattered the life Sylvia Sieferman, 60, had built with the two girls, whom she had adopted from China.
"It kind of blows my mind," said neighbor Florence Schmidt, who lives two doors down from Sieferman. "There wasn't any indication of any trouble at all. But something happened this afternoon about 2 o'clock."
As of Thursday evening, both girls were at Regions Hospital, one in critical condition, the other stable. Sieferman was in custody at Regions, also in critical condition.
Police received two phone calls about 2 p.m. alerting them to a stabbing at a Roseville town home. One call came from a neighbor, the other from the "suspect herself, who said she had stabbed her child," Capt. Rick Mathwig said.
When police arrived at her town home on County Road C, Sieferman was near the front entry with stab wounds, according to Roseville police. Her wounds are believed to be self-inflicted, Mathwig said.
Police found one girl in the town home and the other at a neighbor's house. Both are 11 years old. Each had multiple stab wounds.
Police found "several knives and other cutting instruments" at the home, Mathwig said.
"We're devastated," Schmidt said. "We didn't see this coming."
Sieferman adopted both girls several
years ago, Schmidt said. There were never any problems at the home and they appeared to be a tight-knit family, she said.
"I always admired her. For a single mom to take on these two girls, how wonderful. And they seemed to be happy," Schmidt said.
The girls are identified as Hanna and Linnea on a Web site detailing Sieferman's travels to China. Hanna was adopted in 1999 and Linnea in 2003. Both were "Now with mom Sylvia in Roseville, Minnesota," the site says. The last blog post is dated 2005.
"I suppose my adoption journey really started 25 years ago, when I used to dream of adopting an Asian girl someday," Sieferman wrote. After reading an article on the subject, "(I) started off to explore exactly what would prevent me, then nearly 50 and single, from becoming a mom."
More at: http://www.twincities.com/ci_10270167
A Roseville woman repeatedly stabbed her two 11-year-old daughters before stabbing herself Thursday at their town home.
Neighbors and friends say financial distress and depression must have set her off. Mounting troubles apparently shattered the life Sylvia Sieferman, 60, had built with the two girls, whom she had adopted from China.
"It kind of blows my mind," said neighbor Florence Schmidt, who lives two doors down from Sieferman. "There wasn't any indication of any trouble at all. But something happened this afternoon about 2 o'clock."
As of Thursday evening, both girls were at Regions Hospital, one in critical condition, the other stable. Sieferman was in custody at Regions, also in critical condition.
Police received two phone calls about 2 p.m. alerting them to a stabbing at a Roseville town home. One call came from a neighbor, the other from the "suspect herself, who said she had stabbed her child," Capt. Rick Mathwig said.
When police arrived at her town home on County Road C, Sieferman was near the front entry with stab wounds, according to Roseville police. Her wounds are believed to be self-inflicted, Mathwig said.
Police found one girl in the town home and the other at a neighbor's house. Both are 11 years old. Each had multiple stab wounds.
Police found "several knives and other cutting instruments" at the home, Mathwig said.
"We're devastated," Schmidt said. "We didn't see this coming."
Sieferman adopted both girls several
years ago, Schmidt said. There were never any problems at the home and they appeared to be a tight-knit family, she said.
"I always admired her. For a single mom to take on these two girls, how wonderful. And they seemed to be happy," Schmidt said.
The girls are identified as Hanna and Linnea on a Web site detailing Sieferman's travels to China. Hanna was adopted in 1999 and Linnea in 2003. Both were "Now with mom Sylvia in Roseville, Minnesota," the site says. The last blog post is dated 2005.
"I suppose my adoption journey really started 25 years ago, when I used to dream of adopting an Asian girl someday," Sieferman wrote. After reading an article on the subject, "(I) started off to explore exactly what would prevent me, then nearly 50 and single, from becoming a mom."
More at: http://www.twincities.com/ci_10270167