Boy, 5, found mother slain, waited a day to seek help, relative says

The body of a 26-year-old woman who was bludgeoned to death in a Woodbury home was found by her son and a nephew, both 5 years old, according to the victim's father, who said the boys did not seek help until a day after making the gruesome discovery.

In an interview with 6abc, Sean Carter said he did not know why his daughter, Shawneeq, was house-sitting at the home where she was slain.

He said his grandson and the boy's cousin found her dead.

"I guess, like regular 5-year-olds,"  Sean Carter said, they "didn't know what to do."

He said his grandson did not want to leave his mother alone and did not leave the house until the next day to seek help, according to 6abc.

Authorities have said police responded to the house on Hopkins Street about 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Carter said the boys did not hear anything that might have alerted them to the attack. "They said they were sleeping," he said. "They don't know what happened."

Carter said he did know what to tell his grandson. "He told me, 'Pop-pop, I want to die so I can see my mom.'"

"I have no answers," he said.

The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Carter's remarks.

The office first reported the slaying Tuesday, announcing that Shawneeq Carter, of Camden, had died from blunt-force trauma and that her death had been ruled a homicide.

Investigators have not disclosed whether they have established a motive or identified any possible suspects.