Story Published:
May 6, 2008 at 9:03 PM CDT
Story Updated:
May 6, 2008 at 9:28 PM CDT
Sheriff Sid Gautreaux says the attack happened Sunday night. He says the mother, 21 year old Jessica Johnson, came to the park to meet her ex-boyfriend, Dominique Smith.
Smith is in jail ... accused of killing Johnson and her 3 year old son, Juan.
A 22 year old woman, Trendall Matthews, is accused of helping him kill the two...and then slashing the throat of Johnson's 4 year old daughter .
Remarkably, the little girl and her baby sister survived all night in the park...until a worker found them Monday.
The sheriff tells us Smith even led them to the crime scene and areas where he says he and Matthews burned and dumped clothing but stopped short of confessing to the actual killing.
Family members tell us Smith is the father of the 4 year old girl and that the couple had been fighting over money issues.
Another disturbing fact...the woman accused of helping Smith kill Johnson and the little boy...is apparently Johnson's own cousin.
According to reports, Dominique Smith had been romantically involved with both cousins.
Witnesses say he asked Johnson to bring the kids to the park to meet him Sunday.
The four year old who survived the massacre is being praised as a hero.
Sheriff Sid Gautreaux says it was her unwavering account of what happened Sunday night that helped detectives finger the two suspects and piece together this heartbreaking story.
She is little Lindsey Paige Smith -- her family calls her Paige.
She is the only victim from the BREC park slayings able to tell the story. The other survivor ... her infant sister, Robyn Lane Palmer ... unable to speak. But little Paige's voice was big enough for both of them.
Not only did she give investigators a detailed account of what unfolded at the park Sunday night ... but she also led them straight to the man and woman now charged for the crimes.
Members of the media listened in awe Tuesday afternoon .. as Sheriff Sid Gautreaux told the amazing story of the little girl's bravery. Gautreaux called Paige a hero and a miracle.
Paige told detectives it was her own father and her mother's cousin who were behind the murders. What makes the story so amazing is that Paige was able to tell what happened even after having her own throat slit. The baby, Robyn, had cuts and scratches on her arms and other parts of her body.
Paige told investigators she spent the night in the woods trying to protect her infant sister. It was dark, scary and she had to fight off mosquitoes.
Gautreaux says Paige was awakened by the sounds of a lawn mower as park workers began cutting the grass. That's when she came out of the woods with her baby sister in her arms.
