2 young brothers found dead in Cullman County, mother charged with murder

CULLMAN COUNTY, Ala. – The mother of the two boys who were killed over the weekend in Cullman County will be charged with two counts of murder in the case, Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry said Tuesday.

AL.com reports that Sara Tapia is in the custody of sheriff’s deputies and investigators while she is in the ICU with self-inflicted wounds. She went into emergency surgery when she arrived but is now stable.

The Cullman County Sheriff’s Office said they received a 911 call from a residence on County Road 1718 near Baileyton at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Deputies said after arriving on scene they found two boys dead inside. “The indication to us was that the ambulances weren’t speeding off,” Parkside Elementary School principal Richard Orr said. “Word spread pretty quickly.” According to WIAT, the Cullman County Coroner said the victims were two brothers, ages 9 and 3. The coroner said an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death. Principal Orr said one of the boys, Taylor Garcia, is a 4th grader at Parkside Elementary. “All lesson plans were kind of out the window, obviously,” Orr said.

The sheriff’s office said there was a short search in the area and the suspect, who has been identified as the mother, was located, arrested, and taken by Air Evac to an area hospital. She remains in the hospital, according to WIAT. “Sheriff Gentry said it best when he said it was evil. That’s what it was,” Orr said. The Cullman County Sheriff’s Office also said there is no danger to the community and more details will be provided in the coming days. Principal Orr told WHNT News 19 the two boys have an older sister who’s a sixth-grader at Parkside. He says right now, she’s with her family and hasn’t yet returned to class. “We want to kind of set the tone for when she comes back, that we take care of her and wrap her in the love we have in the building,” Orr said. Just two months into the school year, Orr says he’s encouraging kids at Parkside to remember the Garcia family and to talk with someone. Parkside Elementary School said people who would like to help pay for the costs of the funerals could make checks payable to the Albertville Funeral Home. Parkside will assist in delivering the donations to the funeral home. The services and visitation days and times have not been set as of Monday, according to Parkside.