A Pennsylvania woman is being held without bail after police say she stabbed her adult daughter to death inside the family’s home — then turned the knife on the family dog in a horrifying early-morning attack.
According to the Upper Darby Police Department, 57-year-old Diane Grovola has been charged with multiple serious offenses, including first-degree murder, third-degree murder, criminal homicide, possession of an instrument of crime, and aggravated cruelty to animals.
The violence unfolded early Tuesday morning at a home on South Bishop Avenue in Secane, an unincorporated area of Delaware County just outside Philadelphia.
Court documents say the victim’s father — and Grovola’s husband — returned home from an overnight shift shortly before 6:40 a.m. to a scene that immediately raised alarm. As he entered the house, the family dog greeted him, but when he bent down to pet the animal, he noticed blood on his clothes.
Inside the living room, police say Grovola was sitting on a couch holding a knife.
“I stabbed our daughter,” she allegedly told him.
The husband then discovered his 23-year-old daughter, Daniele Grovola, lying unresponsive in her bedroom with multiple stab wounds to her face, chest, back, and legs. Paramedics attempted lifesaving measures but pronounced her dead at the scene shortly after 7 a.m.
Police say Grovola also admitted to injuring the family dog, which was later found with cuts to its abdomen. The dog survived and was taken to a veterinarian for treatment.
During the 911 call, investigators say Grovola expressed a desire to die and began stabbing herself in the chest. The dispatcher instructed the husband to flee the home, which he did. As he left, he reported seeing his wife throw the knife toward the television and hearing items being smashed inside the kitchen.
Officers arriving at the scene were told Grovola was still armed. Inside the home, police say they found her naked, covered in blood, and suffering from superficial self-inflicted wounds. She allegedly resisted commands and had to be restrained.
After being taken into custody, Grovola reportedly said, “Sorry, I should have stabbed myself first.”
During a search of the home, investigators recovered a large blood-covered kitchen knife lodged in the living room wall.
Grovola was arraigned this week and is currently being held without bail at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. She is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 6.
The case has sent shockwaves through the quiet Delaware County community as investigators continue piecing together what led to the deadly outburst.
“suffering from superficial self-inflicted wounds.”
SUPERFICIAL?????
She took a life why should she have her’s