Leticia Silva Allegedly Mailed Kids Knife To Murder Grandparents

WNCT | 9 On Your Side Greenville NC

A mother in Lakeland, Fla., is accused of mailing her daughters a knife and asking them to kill their grandparents.

Leticia Silva, 31, had lost custody of the girls, ages 7 and 9, prior to the incident, ABC Action News reported. The girls' paternal grandparents, who live in Pitt County, N.C., were awarded permanent custody.

In February, the grandmother told law enforcement that she found a knife under one of the children's pillows.

The girls told investigators that their mother had first mailed them a switchblade pocket knife, then called them around Christmas and asked them to take a knife from the kitchen and use it to kill their grandparents, WCTI 12 reported. The kitchen knife was the weapon that their grandmother found under the pillow.

"It's hard to say what a child is going to do," Pitt County Det. Charles Mitchell said, according to WCTI 12. "The grandparents have told me that they spoke to the children and … neither one of them would carry it out."

On Monday, Silva turned herself in, WNCT reported. She was charged with four counts of solicitation to commit murder and is being held on a $5 million secured bond.

Silva's side of the family told WCTI 12 that they believe the grandparents are making the whole thing up.