Love Leads To Basketball Star's Downfall

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) _ Teenage basketball standout Carissa McGee made good grades. She had a radiant smile. She carried a Teddy bear everywhere. <br/><br/>But her life took a dramatic turn after she fell

Saturday, September 22nd 2007, 12:36 pm

By: News On 6

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) _ Teenage basketball standout Carissa McGee made good grades. She had a radiant smile. She carried a Teddy bear everywhere.

But her life took a dramatic turn after she fell in love.

McGee's relationship with a teenage girl strained family ties, creating rifts in the home she shared with her mother and sister. Ultimately, the discord sparked something inside McGee that spiraled her toward a stunning, inexplicable act.

Before dawn on March 27, 2006, the 16-year-old slashed her mother 20 times with a knife. McGee awakened her by saying, ``Mom, I'm scared.'' When Anita McGee rolled over to switch on a light, Carissa launched a vicious attack.

``You're killing me! You're killing me!'' the woman screamed.

An older sister, Marie McGee, rushed in. Carissa stabbed her 15 times.

After Anita and Marie McGee were airlifted to lifesaving surgery at a Texas hospital, detectives combing through the bloody house discovered two broken knife blades.

``It's remarkable that both victims lived,'' Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez said. ``This easily could have been a double-murder case.''

The attack stunned the community and splintered a family that already had shown cracks.