A four-year-old girl pleaded for her mom's life as her mother's boyfriend strangled her to death in front of her and her sibling. Her mom's boyfriend, Thadius McGrath, 35, allegedly killed Samantha Rementer, 38, using a lamp cord. After Rementer died, McGrath called his father and confessed that he had strangled her. He then attempted to shoot himself, but he survived.
When police interviewed McGrath on June 27, he confessed to the murder again. He told the police that he killed Rementer after she made him mad. He claimed that he initially hit Rementer with a step ladder and the lamp before strangling her and admitted to killing the woman in front of the two children, The Sun reports.
"Please stop, please stop; you are killing my mom"
McGrath admitted while he was strangling Rementer, her four-year-old child said, "Please stop, please stop; you are killing my mom." He admitted that he knew Rementer was dead because she had turned "purple."
When the police arrived, the eldest daughter reportedly answered them covered in blood and told them that her mom was dead.
The girl told the police that McGrath had killed their mommy because she was annoying, and then he accidentally shot himself. According to the police, McGrath's mother called them to check on the home as their son was possibly suicidal. Another child was found in a high chair. The two children were unharmed and safely removed.
Police then found Rementer in a bedroom, suffering a blunt force trauma to her face and an electrical cord wrapped around her neck. A step ladder was also found in the bedroom.
According to Oxygen True Crime, McGrath was found on the floor and covered with blood in another bedroom, moaning and moving his hands. He had a Smith & Wesson .9mm semi-automatic pistol and a fired casing.
Emergency responders attended to both victims. McGrath survived, but Rementer was pronounced dead at the scene. McGrath is recovering at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center but is in the Bucks County Department of Corrections custody.
According to the Bucks County District Attorney's office, McGrath is charged with Murder of the First Degree, Murder of the Third Degree, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and Recklessly Endangering Another Person, and Possession of an Instrument of Crime.
Children under the custody of grandfather
The two girls are now in the custody of their grandfather. The grandfather told Courier-Times that he is proud of his granddaughters. He shared that at some point during the attack, the older granddaughter bit McGrath.
He also created a GoFundMe page to support the two young girls. The girl's father died in February 2021, the grandfather shared. So far, the page has raised $17,000.
