On August 5, 2014, a 6-year-old boy was stabbed to death in his own home in Tallahassee. His grandmother Martha White is accused of killing him. Deputies say that when they arrived on the scene at 7712 Bass Ridge Trail they found Mason Rhinehart lying on the bathroom floor with stab wounds. When deputies spoke with Rhinehart's older brother, he said that their grandmother, identified as Martha M. White, told the boys that she had a surprise for them.
White then took Mason into the bathroom and shut the door. Mason's brother called their father and hid. He later tried to open the bathroom door where White and Mason were but said that the door was locked. He said he saw White leaving the residence holding a bottle of wine saying that she had a surprise for him too.
According to Mason's parents, the 63 year-old White was babysitting the children while they were at work. When deputies arrived, White had already left the residence but her vehicle was later discovered at the dead end of Valley Creek Drive, about a half mile from the residence. When they located White at a nearby park, deputies say she was covered in blood and in possession of a bottle of wine and Xanax. The LSCO affidavit states that White, a retired nurse, was uttering spontaneously that she had been tortured for years by the children's parents and she was fed up.
On September 15, 2014, a judge declared White incompetent to stand trial. She remains incarcerated.
