Police: Fayetteville mom tried to poison kids with lighter fluid
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Fayetteville mother is behind bars, charged with child abuse after police say she tried to poison her kids with lighter fluid.
According to arrest warrants, Octavia Robinson gave her 10-year-old son a mixture of lighter fluid and cream soda.
It happened on Sunday at The Studio 6 Motel on Bragg Blvd. where police say Robinson was making breakfast for her children.
The kids -- ages 6 and 10 -- were given the mixture, but when the 10-year-old took a sip, he thought it tasted funny. The boy then ran downstairs to a neighbor's room and told her what happened. The neighbor, Tracy Madison, said she immediately called 911, who instructed her to stay with the kids until police arrived.
When officers got to the scene, they arrested the mother and charged her with misdemeanor child abuse and distributing food with noxious/deleterious materials.
"I've been up all night crying," the neighbor told ABC11. "Some people are not used to seeing and going through this and I feel terrible for the children because they're going to wind up in state's custody and they don't deserve that. All they wanted was a mother's love. A mother's attention. A mother is supposed to keep their children safe. They're supposed to protect them."
Robinson appeared in court on Tuesday, where ABC11 learned she had been committed to a mental hospital just days before the attempted poisoning.
In court, the DA ordered another mental health evaluation and, at the point, Robinson lost her temper.
The video above doesn't contain audio, because audio recordings are not allowed in first appearances in Cumberland County courts.
However, ABC11 was in the courtroom when Robinson interrupted the judge, put her own hands behind her back and demanded she be taken back to her cell.
She is being held without bond.
