A seven-year-old girl who was stabbed to death by her older sister after they got into an argument over ‘a simple note about flushing the toilet’ has been identified.
Jessie Jane Lilburn was killed on Saturday in Taylor, Michigan, with authorities saying her unidentified 13-year-old sister stabbed her more than 10 times while their parents were out of the house.
She allegedly waited in the bathroom for Jessie Jane following their heated argument and stabbed her multiple times with a hunting and butcher’s knife.
Jessie Jane was then transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Her grieving parents are now trying to wrap their heads around the tragedy.
Jessie Jane Lilburn, 7, was killed on Saturday in Taylor, Michigan , with authorities saying her unidentified 13-year-old sister stabbed her more than 10 times while their parents were out of the house
‘This has been the roughest stretch of my entire life,’ their father, Jason Lilburn, told WXYZ. ‘You never imagine in your worst nightmares something like this to happen.’
He said the girls had fought in the past, but he and their mother never thought much about it.
‘We thought they were just normal sibling arguments,’ Jason said.
‘Everybody argues with their little brothers, little sisters – it was a normal thing. It never resulted in any violence, any physical altercations other than maybe a push or a shove, but this was totally unexpected.’
Police say the girls’ parents left them home alone around 11.15am before an argument broke out between the sisters.
‘It stemmed from a note that was placed in the bathroom and the note was about flushing the toilet,’ Taylor Detective Cpl. Zachary Digiacomo said.
The teen then allegedly stabbed her younger sister, and proceeded to frantically call her father before dialing 911.
But the girl ‘was very calm and just showed no emotion’ when authorities arrived, Digiacomo revealed.
The unidentified 13-year-old girl is accused of fatally stabbing her sister while babysitting her after they got into an argument over ‘a simple note about flushing the toilet’ at their home
Taylor Detective Cpl. Zachary Digiacomo revealed that the teen ‘was very calm and just showed no emotion’ when authorities arrived
A memorial has since been set up on the family’s front lawn with flowers, a soccer ball, stuffed animals and the little girl’s purple bike.
‘Honestly I get emotional every time seeing this,’ Jason told WXYZ. ‘It really pulls at my heart that she’s not with us anymore and that there’s so much love for her.’
He said he wants people to remember Jessie Jane for who she was and not for her tragic end.
‘She loved being out on the boat and swimming and catching frogs and snakes, whatever she could find, playing with her friends, hanging out with family, just smiling all the time,’ the grieving father said.
‘Every night, she would give us a 20-minute hug to procrastinate going to sleep, but she gave the best hugs,’ he recounted, ‘and that’s been the most challenging part to go to sleep at night without her, her little arms around us.’
A private funeral for the young girl will be held on Saturday, as her family asks people to make donations to the Crazy Sailor Bicycle Foundation, which was set up in her memory.
The girls’ father, Jason Lilburn, said it has been difficult for him and the girls’ mother to accept
Meanwhile, her sister will be held as a juvenile as she faces charges of first-degree murder, felony murder and first-degree child abuse for killing Jessie Jane, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said.
‘Given her young age, the state would have seven years to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate her until her mandatory release at age 21,’ she said. ‘Hopefully, then she would not be a danger to others.’
‘While this is a difficult decision, given these facts, it is the right thing to do in this case,’ the prosecutor added.