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6 Aug, 2016 00:42

‘Definitely a hero’: Ohio grandma died protecting grandkids

‘Definitely a hero’: Ohio grandma died protecting grandkids

A Columbus, Ohio, grandmother stabbed trying to protect her grandchildren from a convicted pedophile, died five weeks later from her injuries.

Columbus police said Candy Arthurs confronted the convict after he had lured several children into an alley under the pretext of looking for his missing drone in late June.

When Arthurs confronted Kristopher Amos he pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the chest as well as stabbing her seven-year-old grandson in the shoulder, according to police.

“My son and my daughter ran into the house and screamed ‘call 911!’” Amanda Gibson, told WBNS.

The 45-year-old grandmother was able to get back to her daughter’s house, where she collapsed at the front door. Arthurs died five weeks later from her injuries.

Her daughter witnessed the attack.

“She always said she would die for them and that’s exactly what she did,” Gibson said of her mother, according to WBNS. “She’s definitely a hero. It’s hard because she lost her life but she saved both of my kids’ lives that night.”

Amos had lived in the neighborhood for years, but neighbors weren’t aware he was a sex offender. He was convicted in 2010 of enticing children in a YMCA shower.

Tier 1 offenders are not subject to community notification. Those convictions usually carry a one-year prison sentence and are generally for charges such as possessing child pornography or sexual assault with an adult with contact that is not a complete sexual assault.

Gibson told WBNS she had a message for Amos.

“I hope he rots in jail and that he never sees the light of day again and that he knows how it feels to lose his life,” she said.

Gibson said her eight-year-old daughter was not injured, but that her seven-year-old son, while he has recovered from the stab wound, has yet to recover emotionally.

“He’s very traumatized,” she said. “We're trying to get him in counseling now because he won't come out at night. If I come walking through the house at night he'll come and grab and be right on my side.”

Amos has been arrested and charged with one count of murder and two counts of felonious assault. He is being held in custody at the Franklin County Jail, and bail is set at $2.5 million.

The family is running a GoFundMe campaign to help raise money to cover the medical bills and funeral costs for the grandmother.

“We're asking for help to help with her hospital bill and or if it goes bad other arrangements.. anything will help and it's highly appreciated,” stated her daughter on the campaign page, adding that she was “very outdoorsy” and “lived for her five grandchildren,” stated her daughter on the campaign page.

The campaign has received support from over 175 people in a month, and raised over half of its campaign goal of $10,000.

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