Facebook post may have prompted deadly stabbing of woman, 2 kids

NEWARK — Authorities say a social media posting might have played a role in a stabbing attack that left two children and a woman in New Jersey dead.

Essex County prosecutors say 26-year-old Jeremy Arrington faces murder and attempted murder charges after Saturday's attack in Newark that also left three other people seriously wounded.

Newark authorities had announced last month that Arrington was wanted in connection with a shooting and sexual assault. They say one of the stabbing victims reposted that alert on Facebook.

Killed in the attacks were 8-year-old Aerial Little Whitehurst, 11-year-old Al-Jahon Whitehurst and 23-year-old college student Syasia McBurroughs. Authorities say the children were brother and sister, but McBurroughs wasn't related to them.

Arrington's bail was set Monday at $5 million. It wasn't clear if he's retained an attorney.

Shortly before 8 p.m., on Sunday, Arrington was discovered barricaded in a residence in the 200 block of Pomona Avenue, the Essex County prosecutor's office said.
They said a day earlier, he'd gone to a home in the 100 block of Hedden Terrace in Newark and fatally stabbed all three individuals — out of a total of nine people in the home at the time. McBurroughs had been visiting the family living there, which knew Arrington, authorities say.

— With staff reports

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