Shanynthia Gardner,”Yari”: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Shanynthia Gardner was charged with killing her four children in Memphis. (Facebook)

Shanynthia Gardner was charged with killing her four children in Memphis. (Facebook)

Shanynthia Gardner, a Memphis, Tennessee mother, was charged with murdering her four young children by slitting their throats, the New York Daily News says.

The Sheriff’s Department booking sheet shows she has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder as well as multiple counts of aggravated child abuse.

Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham told reporters:

This is an egregious act of evil that has shocked us to our core.

All of the children had severe lacerations to their throat, said WMCActionNews5.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. A Fifth Child Escaped from Shanynthia Gardner and Ran Out of the Apartment, Reports Say

The surviving child was 7-years-old, said WTMCActionNews5. A witness said the child was yelling that his mother had stabbed his sister as he fled, according to WTMCActionNews5.

At one point, as the surviving child fled, the mother came outside holding the butcher knife, and then went back inside, said News Channel 3.


2. The Youngest Victim was Found Dead in Her Baby Carrier

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The youngest victim, Yahzi, was only 6-months-old, and she was murdered in her baby carrier, the Daily News said. The other dead children were all toddlers. The Daily News said they were Sahvi, 2; Sya; 3; and Tallen, 4. News Channel 3 said the baby carrier was in the livingroom and 3-year-old Sya was lying next to it dead. The other two children were in a bedroom, with Tallen on the floor and Sahvi in a bed, the news channel said.

A co-worker of Gardner’s, Michele Guimond, defended her on Facebook, writing of the allegations against Gardner:

I am heartbroken because a friend, co-worker and a loving mother committed a horrible act yesterday. Yari Gardner was a loving mother that people are disparriging (sic) they need to take a step back and let everything come to light. She is not this monster, she is a person who is full of energy, laughter and love. I do believe that something happened to make her kill her 4 beautiful babies. What? I don’t know, maybe it was Postpartum psychosis, it can take everyone (the mother, her family & friends and doctors) completely by surprise. ANY PREGNANT WOMAN IS POTENTIALLY AT RISK!!!
The only thing I can do is support and pray for her. I hope she knows that there are people who aren’t passing judgement on her and only hope she can get the help she needs.

3. Gardner Called the Toddlers’ Father After Killing Them, an Affidavit Says

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WTMCActionNews5 says that Shanynthia Gardner called the father of the dead children and told him she had killed them. The father, Martin Gardner, received the call at 12:50 p.m., said the Commercial Appeal. The incident occurred on Friday.

Photo of Martin Gardner from GoFundMe site started to raise money for the toddlers' funeral expenses. (GoFundMe/https://www.gofundme.com/2cdxv38)

Photo of Martin Gardner from GoFundMe site started to raise money for the toddlers’ funeral expenses. (GoFundMe/https://www.gofundme.com/2cdxv38)

Toya Washington, of Memphis TN, who started a GoFundMe site for Martin Gardner and his family, wrote on the site:

Tragically, four beautiful children lost their lives for unknown reasons. They leave behind a loving father that takes every breath with his children in mind. We may never know what triggered the children’s mother to take the lives of her four precious children but we stand with the father to pay condolences to his children in this time of need.

The surviving child, Dallen, has a different father. That father, Detrail Clayton, told the Memphis TV station: “I just need him right now. I know he needs me. He should be with me. I don’t know what he’s seen.”

Detrail Clayton, the father of the surviving child, poses on Facebook. (Facebook/Detrail Clayton.)

Detrail Clayton, the father of the surviving child, poses on Facebook. (Facebook/Detrail Clayton.)

4. Gardner Was Having Problems at Work & Had Superficial Wounds

Gardner, whose nickname is “Yari,” stands 5-foot-6 and weighs 145 pounds, said the Commercial Appeal.

News Channel 3 reported that Shanynthia Gardner’s husband told police that she was having problems at work last year. She worked at ALSAC St. Jude, which does fundraising for the Children’s Cancer Research Hospital and also was reported missing in March.

Her husband said she left out for a run around 9 p.m. and hadn’t been seen for hours. He said she was feeling stressed at that time and “has been feeling that someone is trying to harm her and her family,” News Channel 3 said he told police in the previous incident.

In the earlier incident, News Channel 3 reports, Gardner had driven 95 miles away with her children to Corinth, Mississippi, after leaving work, even though she didn’t know anyone there. She eventually turned up in the hospital that night, but it wasn’t clear why.

The Commercial Appeal said Gardner was injured but only slightly; her cuts were described as superficial cuts to the neck and wrist. She is 29-years-old, said the Morning Ledger. The Shelby County Sheriff’s officials told reporters they weren’t aware of preexisting mental health issues, the Morning Ledger said.

The surviving child’s grandmother, Sonya Clayton, told the Morning Ledger that she hadn’t seen Gardner for “quite some time,” and said she believed the slayings were the work of the devil. She told the newspaper:

I know this is not Shanynthia. And I pray and love Shanynthia.

5. A Large Butcher Knife was Recovered from the Scene

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A 911 call from a neighbor led sheriff’s deputies to the scene, where they found the children already dead, so they didn’t even see a need to call paramedics, the Morning Ledger said. It appeared the children had been dead for “quite some time,” said the Morning Ledger, adding that a large butcher knife was taken from the two-bedroom apartment.