Christina Booth: Attempted Murder of Her Three Infant Children
Christina Booth with her twins not long after their birth. Photo: ATI.
Christian Booth was at breaking point when she slit the throats of her three children in order to ‘make them be quiet for her husband’.
Who is Christina Booth?
Christina Booth and her Husband Thomas
Karla Petersen, who is Christina's adoptive mother, claims that when four-year-old Christina Booth arrived at her home, she had already experienced multiple traumatic events.
According to Petersen, Christina witnessed the rape and murder of her mother at the age of two and subsequently endured neglect and sexual abuse by her foster guardians. Petersen further mentioned that Christina was diagnosed with PTSD during her childhood and postpartum depression during her teenage years when she became a mother.
Christina’s husband Thomas was deployed to Afghanistan around the same time as the birth of their twins. Christina’s PTSD resurfaced at this time and Karla was concerned that Christina may hurt herself, but did not suspect that she might hurt her children.
Christina Booth Attacks her Children
According to the police, on January 25th 2015, the Booths began the evening as a cozy at-home date night, settling in to watch a movie and drink wine on a Saturday.
Her three children, a two year old and 6 month old twins, were sleeping peacefully upstairs.
Both husband and wife had two large glasses of wine.
When Christina got up towards the end of the movie to put their 2-year-old child to bed, the twins began crying.
According to a probable cause filing, Christina snapped and went downstairs to retrieve a kitchen knife from the dishwasher. She then returned upstairs to slash the oldest child's throat and conceal the severely injured child under a blanket. She similarly attacked the twins.
Thomas, Christina's husband, told the police that he realized something was wrong when he found Christina in her underwear, screaming and crying. He soon discovered the babies bleeding, but did not notice that the toddler was wounded.
Thomas, a Special Forces soldier, grabbed his medical kit and tried to stop the twins' bleeding while shouting at Christina to call an ambulance.
When Christina called 911, she told the operator that her babies wouldn't calm down despite trying to feed them. Emergency responders transported the injured children to a nearby hospital, where they underwent lifesaving surgery.
Christina Booth was arrested and charged with attempted murder.
According to the probable cause document, Christina stated that “she knew if she killed all of the children, the house would be quiet for Thomas." The document also noted that Christina became emotional during the interview and repeated the statement "they will be quiet now" several times.
The Sentencing of Christina Booth
Christina was sentenced by County Superior Court Judge Mary Sue Wilson to serve 14 and a half years in prison. Additionally, the judge ordered Christina to complete a mental health evaluation and serve three months of community custody following her release.
"I hate myself very much," said Christina. "I am disgusted with myself, and I will not be able to forgive myself."
Thomas, who had full custody of the children, described Christina as a loving, sweet, and kind person. He stated that the assaults were entirely out of character for her. Thomas also mentioned that the children were doing well and that he planned to support his wife.
Both Petersen and Thomas requested that the court allow the children to visit Christina in prison, but the prosecution objected, citing the potential long-term psychological effects on the girls.
The judge denied the request and ordered Booth not to contact her daughters after her release. However, the judge stated that the order could be reviewed at a later date.
Petersen expressed her hope that Booth and her daughters would reunite one day, stating that Booth was not an evil person and genuinely cared about the girls.
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