The people of Cincinnati are sad because Patricia McCollum, 77, was killed along with her two children in what appears to have been a murder.
McCollum was a respected foster mother who took care of over 70 children over the course of 20 years.
Their College Hill home was found stabbed to death on Thursday. The victims were DJ McCollum, 32, her adopted 11-year-old daughter, and her disabled son.
A report in the New York Post says that the suspect in this case may have been thinking about committing suicide.
People in the neighborhood called 911 when they heard a disturbance coming from the house. Later, police found Anthony Mathis with stab wounds that he had given himself. He was taken to the hospital, but he died soon after getting there.
The link between Mathis and McCollum has not been made public by the authorities yet. According to Cincinnati.com, Mathis was charged with strangulation in a domestic violence case involving McCollum a year ago.
He was charged with lifting her by the neck, but a grand jury did not indict him. As a result, the charges were dropped because he was not being prosecuted.
The reason for the killings is still unknown because the police haven’t said anything about it.
Family members have started a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for McCollum’s funeral. She cared for more than 70 foster children for more than 20 years.
The page for raising money says that McCollum “was a hero” who “fought for foster youth, trauma victims, the disabled, and teen parents as a founding board member of Rosemary’s Babies Co.”
McCollum was the first Black woman to work as a cocktail waitress at Cincinnati’s Playboy Club. She was called a “bunny” on the GoFundMe page.
