A Michigan nanny is facing a first-degree murder charge after authorities say she fatally stabbed the grandfather of the child she was hired to care for, using a screwdriver during a violent confrontation inside a suburban Detroit home.
Police said Samantha Rae Booth, 35, was arrested Friday following the deadly attack on 83-year-old David Ong, the grandfather of a 3-year-old girl Booth had been watching at a home on Sheridan Drive, about 18 miles northwest of Detroit.
According to the Royal Oak Police Department, officers responded after Ong’s family members called 911 around 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 24, reporting chaos at the residence. When police arrived, they found Ong with fatal injuries and Booth, reportedly covered in blood, attempting to flee unclothed after the incident.
Booth is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree child abuse, assault with a dangerous weapon, and three counts of resisting or obstructing police, court records show.
The case began when Ong’s daughter, who was out of town, asked her father to check on her child’s welfare. When she could no longer reach him, she called her brother-in-law for help. The man arrived to find the home’s front door open and heard “noises coming from the basement.”
Investigators said the brother-in-law went downstairs and discovered Booth in a “manic state covered in blood and [Ong] lying on the floor with severe injuries.” He grabbed the toddler and tried to escape as Booth allegedly continued attacking him with the screwdriver, chasing him and the child outside.
“The nanny continued to pursue the man and his niece outside while armed with a screwdriver,” police said. The two fled to a neighbor’s home and called 911.
Moments later, Booth allegedly “stripped off all her clothing” and attempted to run from the scene but was “quickly apprehended” by responding officers. The brother-in-law and the child were taken to a hospital with minor injuries and later released.
Authorities confirmed Booth had no prior criminal record. She refused to initially appear for her arraignment via Zoom on Tuesday morning, forcing a delay of more than an hour. During the hearing, a court officer informed 44th District Court Magistrate Donald Chisholm that Booth was “lying on the floor at the moment, in the middle of the cell, with no clothes on.”
Booth eventually appeared on camera and was ordered held without bond. It was not immediately known when her next court appearance will take place.
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office described the incident as one of the most disturbing recent cases of domestic violence and elder abuse in the region. Legal experts say Booth could face life in prison without parole if convicted, according to Michigan homicide laws.
The Royal Oak Police Department said the investigation remains active.
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