Mabank mom under CPS investigation years before daughters' murders
MABANK, Texas - Newly-released reports reveal more about the chilling case of an East Texas mother who is charged with killing her two daughters last November.
The 5- and 7-year-old girls in the Henderson County town of Mabank were murdered less than three hours after a sheriff's deputy responded to a 911 call from the suspect's husband. Their mother, Sarah Henderson, is charged with their murders.
Henderson is charged with capital murder for the deaths of 7-year-old Kaylee and 5-year-old Kenlie. At the time of her arrest, CPS would only tell say it had been involved with her before but did not release additional details.
The newly-obtained report reveals CPS investigated the mother for allegations of abuse involving an older child years before the murders.
In a 2010 case, social workers found "considerable or extreme child vulnerability." Reports found Henderson and her boyfriend at the time were not providing appropriate supervision, resulting in the child "eating feces, falling off a truck… and being hospitalized" for possibly ingesting "a blood thinner medication.”
The report also says investigators confirmed Henderson’s boyfriend "committed sexual abuse of the child.” CPS did not remove the child because he "began living with his father after this time.”
The report says Henderson accepted counseling and evaluation services, parent/caregiver training and family safety services. There was no other contact reported by CPS.
What is not clear is whether Henderson received any mental health services in between the 2010 investigation and the murders of Kaylee and Kenlie. But on the night of the shootings, her husband called 911 because his wife was acting strangely. He said she was “freaking out like somebody's out to get her.”
A sheriff's deputy responded, but he left after the Hendersons said they did not need assistance. Two hours and forty minutes later, the children were killed.
Last month, a judge ordered Henderson to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. The outcome of that examination is unclear.
CPS says it never received any reports alleging abuse or neglect of the two little girls before their deaths.
Henderson's capital murder trial is set for January.
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