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Grandmother Wanted In Triple Stabbing Taken Into Custody

COLTON (CBSLA.com) — A grandmother suspected in a triple stabbing that left her own 18-month-old granddaughter dead was taken into custody Tuesday morning in San Bernardino.

Nicole Darrington-Clark, 43, of Colton, was the subject of a manhunt since Monday after police say she stabbed her adult daughter and two granddaughters. Darrington-Clark has been booked on murder charges, with bail set at $1 million.

Police say Darrington-Clark was found at about 4 a.m., sitting in her car at Ninth and Waterman in San Bernardino. A San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy ran the car's plate, called for backup and took Darrington-Clark into custody without further incident.

The toddler died of her injuries. The six-year-old, who was found hiding in a closet, and her mother are recovering in the hospital after being upgraded to good condition.

After Monday's stabbings, neighbors heard screams and found the mother and horribly wounded children in their Colton apartment.

Darrington-Clark has a violent history of mental health problems. In 2005, she pleaded guilty to stabbing her 14-year-old son and throwing her 10-year-old daughter out of a moving minivan. A judge found her not guilty by reason of insanity and sent her to a mental hospital.

It wasn't immediately clear when or why she was released from the mental hospital and whether the daughter in the 2005 attack is the same one critically injured Monday.

Investigators do not know the motive for the attack, Colton police Cpl. Ray Mendez said Monday.

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