--- description: A Tennessee mother accused of stabbing four of her children to death was moved to a mental health institute on Tuesday. title: Tennessee Mom Charged in Killing of 4 Kids Moved to Mental Institute image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt339c8bf25c3f9378/69889ac25f570fd47db219a8/mother-charged-facebook.jpg?branch=production ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Tennessee Mom Charged in Killing of 4 Kids Moved to Mental Institute  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 5, 2016 11:19 PM CUT  This 2016 arrest photo provided by the Shelby County Sheriff's Office shows Shanynthia Gardner of Memphis, Tenn. This 2016 arrest photo provided by the Shelby County Sheriff's Office shows Shanynthia Gardner of Memphis, Tenn.Shelby County Sheriff's Office/AP  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 5, 2016 11:19 PM CUT A Tennessee mother accused of [stabbing four of her children to death](http://time.com/4392373/memphis-children-stabbed-mother-grandmother-forgives-shanynthia-gardner/ "undefined") last week was moved to a mental health institute on Tuesday after appearing in court, authorities said. Shanynthia Gardner, 29, was taken to Memphis Mental Health Institute after a brief video court appearance before a judge, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Earle Farrell told the [Associated Press](http://staging.hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FFOUR%5FCHILDREN%5FKILLED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-07-05-15-05-52 "undefined"). She faces charges of first-degree murder, child abuse and child neglect after she allegedly cut the throats of four children, who were all younger than 5, inside their Memphis apartment on Friday. Gardner’s next hearing is set for next Monday, according to the AP. \[[_AP_](http://staging.hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FFOUR%5FCHILDREN%5FKILLED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-07-05-15-05-52 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4394208/tennessee-mom-4-kids-stabbed-mental-institute/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4394208/tennessee-mom-4-kids-stabbed-mental-institute/"},"headline":"Tennessee Mom Charged in Killing of 4 Kids Moved to Mental Institute","datePublished":"2016-07-05T23:19:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:52:17.210Z","description":"The slain children were all younger than 5","url":"https://time.com/4394208/tennessee-mom-4-kids-stabbed-mental-institute/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt339c8bf25c3f9378/69889ac25f570fd47db219a8/mother-charged-facebook.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt339c8bf25c3f9378/69889ac25f570fd47db219a8/mother-charged-facebook.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Shanynthia Gardner","caption":"This 2016 arrest photo provided by the Shelby County Sheriff's Office shows Shanynthia Gardner of Memphis, Tenn.","creditText":"Shelby County Sheriff's Office/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4394208/tennessee-mom-4-kids-stabbed-mental-institute/","name":"Tennessee Mom Charged in Killing of 4 Kids Moved to Mental Institute"}}]}] ```