Mother charged with murder, accused of suffocating 4-year-old son: St. Pete Police
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A St. Pete mother was charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday morning after police say she suffocated her 4-year-old son.
The backstory:
Officers arrived at the scene around 3:30 p.m. after the boy's 16-year-old sister got home from school and found her mother, 43-year-old Diana Cullom, holding her brother, Finley Cullom, in a bed. There was blood at the scene and throughout the house.
According to police and court records, Cullom suffocated Finley with a plastic bag. Police say she had self-inflicted stab wounds that were not life-threatening and was taken to the Bayfront Hospital.
Those wounds were visible on her arms when she appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday after being charged with her son's murder.
Police originally said that the boy was stabbed to death, but Wednesday morning said the medical examiner determined there were no stab wounds on the child and that the child had been suffocated.
St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said the 16-year-old also found a knife and a note at the home in the 1700 block of Tanglewood Drive Northeast.
Courtesy: St. Pete Police Department.
"It is our belief that the note was left by mom," Holloway stated during a press briefing on Tuesday evening.
Diana Cullom's first court appearance
What we know:
Wednesday, a judge told an expressionless Cullom, who stood with her arms folded in court, that she’ll stay in jail under no bond. He also said she can’t have any contact with her 16-year-old daughter.
Criminal defense attorney Kevin Hayslett is representing Cullom and was in court on Wednesday. He said he had no comment following the hearing.
Cullom’s husband, Dr. Damian Cullom, and three others, sat in the front row of the courtroom and were all very visibly emotional. He held his head in his hands and covered his mouth at times.
Investigators say Dr. Cullom, who owns Crescent Lake Family Dentistry, wasn’t home at the time of the incident. The office’s website says Diana helped her husband open the dentistry, and oversaw the construction and renovation of the 1920 building.
It goes on to say she grew up in Lutz and the Florida Keys before moving to St. Pete in 1996. She went to college for business and later got her real estate license.
"She owned and operated her own consulting and brokerage firm, selling businesses and franchises throughout Florida and the U.S. … Her goal for his practice is to provide a warm and inviting atmosphere making patients feel at ease while receiving top-notch, personalized, quality care. She and Dr. Cullom have four wonderful children — Joseph, Autumn, Audrey and Finley, and two stubborn French bulldogs named Milo & Max. In her free time she loves to spend time with friends and family, including her seven siblings, time with God, construction, fishing, architectural design and renovation projects, gardening, business ventures, charity work, travel, reading/research, music festivals and almost any outdoor activity," the post on the dentistry’s website says.
What we don't know:
They didn't say what exactly was in the note, and police still don't know about the mom's mental health history.
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What they're saying:
The chief said police have not been dispatched to the home in the past.
"A lot of these officers, they have kids, and then you have the 16-year-old who's coming home from school and finding her brother and her mother. And then you're just having a father come here. So right now in the neighborhood, everybody's heart is heavy," said Holloway.
Police say they are providing victim services and resources to the 16-year-old and responding officers and firefighters.
What's next:
Diana Cullom’s attorney said Wednesday evening a plea would be forthcoming. The investigation remains ongoing.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the St. Pete Police Department.