'SORRY, I CAN'T DEAL WITH THEM ANYMORE'; ROSEVILLE SINGLE MOM CHARGED WITH ATTACKING 2 DAUGHTERS WITH AX, KNIFE
Author: Brady Gervais and Jake Grovum
She wanted to be a good parent.
But Thursday afternoon, Sylvia Lynn Sieferman "just lost it."
"I'm a bad mom," she reportedly said as she struck one of her two 11-year-old daughters with an ax. "I had to do this."
A criminal complaint filed Friday in Ramsey County District Court describes the ax-and-knife attack on Sieferman's daughters and how their mother later stabbed herself at their Roseville town home.
Sieferman, 60, was charged with second-degree attempted murder after her 11-year-old daughter Hannah was struck an estimated five times with an ax.
Authorities also were considering charging the mother with stabbing the other 11-year-old daughter, Linnea, but were waiting in case the girl's critical medical condition changes.
Both girls were hospitalized Friday afternoon at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul. Hannah was reported in good condition with head wounds, a fractured skull, cuts and a partially severed finger, Roseville police said.
Linnea, who was found lying in a pool of blood in an upstairs bedroom with a knife wound "across her entire throat area," suffered life-threatening injuries.
The mother was in stable condition at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where she was in police custody. Authorities said they had interviewed her.
On Thursday afternoon, Sieferman reportedly made Hannah an egg sandwich for lunch. A short while later, she was in Linnea's bedroom with a pillow, a knife and an ax, according to the complaint.
Hannah told police she saw her mother go into the bedroom. She followed and saw her plunge a knife into Linnea several times, the complaint said.
Hannah ran to her mother's bathroom, but the girl forgot to lock the door. Sieferman broke in and struck Hannah in the head and neck with an ax, the complaint said.
Hannah told police Sieferman tried stabbing her in the neck and chest with a knife, but the girl grabbed the weapon and hit and kicked her mother.
She then ran to a neighbor's home.
Sieferman called 911 about 2 p.m. She asked for help and told a dispatcher: "I killed my children," the complaint said.
When police arrived at the town home in the 400 block of County Road C, Sieferman pleaded with the officers: "Kill me, kill me." She was bleeding profusely from the neck as she sat near the front steps holding a telephone. A bloody knife lay on the ground in front of her.
A bloody ax was found on the floor of Sieferman's bedroom, the criminal complaint said. A note was found nearby that read in part: "Sorry, I can't deal with them anymore."
Hannah told police her mother "just lost it." She recalled that during the attack the woman had said, "I'm a bad mom" and "I had to do this."
If convicted on the second-degree attempted murder charge, Sieferman would face up to 20 years in prison. She still could face stiffer charges.
The investigation continues, said Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, who noted that it's possible Sieferman could be charged with first-degree attempted murder.
Gaertner declined to say what would constitute amending the charge.
"It seems as if her life was very stable, and she was a productive law-abiding citizen," Gaertner said.
Friends and neighbors described Sieferman as a loving single mother who had fallen on hard times. She adopted her girls from China in 1999 and 2003, fulfilling a 25-year-old desire to be a mother, according to her Internet blog.
Four years ago, she lost her job as a senior systems analyst at Guidant, now a division of Boston Scientific, during mass layoffs. What jobs she found since didn't work out, said a close friend, who asked not to be identified.
Then, Sieferman's mother and sister died.
And after being laid off, a $250,000 addition to her house became more than she could afford, the friend said. Sieferman moved to the town home and tried to sell the other house, which sat on the market for more than a year and is now nearing foreclosure.
A month ago, Sieferman was hospitalized for mental instability, said neighbor Bob Micko, who watched the girls during that time. "She was depressed," he said.
About the same time, Sieferman had arranged for "guardians" to care for the girls, but the arrangements fell through, the friend said. It was not clear with whom the arrangements were made.
The guardianship problem may have been the last straw, friends speculate.
"Unfortunately, this case, as horrific as it is, is not unique," Gaertner said.
"We have had cases in the past where parents have killed or have attempted to kill their children, but each case is horrific in its own way and an immeasurable tragedy."
Brady Gervais can be reached at 651-228-2171. Jake Grovum can be reached 651-228-5480.