Aunt of woman charged with stabbing daughter: She lost her job, ‘snapped’

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – The aunt of a Tulsa woman accused of stabbing her daughter 50 to 70 times, hitting her head with a pickaxe and setting their home on fire says the mother recently lost her job and “snapped” after being banned from her son’s graduation.
Police say 39-year-old Taheerah Ahmad attacked the 11-year-old girl Monday and also bound and gagged two younger daughters who were found unharmed.
Officer Jeanne MacKenzie said Friday that the 11-year-old remains in critical condition.
Debrecka Fields told KHRH-TV that after her niece lost her job her mother, who cares for Ahmad’s two sons, prevented her from attending a commencement and Ahmad “thought herself into a nervous breakdown.”
Ahmad is being held on complaints of arson, child abuse, and assault and battery with the intent to kill.