LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The case against a Lexington mother accused of murdering her two children will move to a grand jury.
On Thursday morning, 43-year-old Nikki James made her first in-person court appearance in Fayette County. James is charged with two counts of murder-domestic violence. Police say she stabbed and killed her children, 13-year-old Deon and 5-year-old Skyler Williams, on the night of May 2nd at their apartment on Rogers Road.
“Officers were originally dispatched for multiple witnesses reporting that there was a woman covered in blood, and telling people to kill their kids and kill themselves,” said Det. Joshua Crowe with the Lexington Police Department.
Det. Crowe testified James also told witnesses at the scene she killed her children. He said after officers took her into custody, she received treatment at the hospital for her own injuries, which included a deep gash on her and a cut down the front of her body.
At one point during the preliminary hearing, the judge and defense attorney agreed there was a definite mental health component to the case. Last week, LEX 18 learn James was facing eviction and had previously suffered mental health issues.
Despite new statements from police, there are still many questions surrounding the case, including from the victims’ family members in Cincinnati.
WCPO spoke to the Williams' half-sister Dariah this week.
“What would compel a mother to do something like that to her children, and where did you stab them?” she said.
James is currently in the Fayette County Detention Center. Bond has not been set.
