A Brooklyn mother who was later found stabbed to death inside her Park Slope home had repeatedly warned neighbours that her daughter was hearing voices and behaving erratically before the suspected murder-suicide, according to people living on the block.
Police believe 23-year-old Kayla Wilson fatally stabbed her mother, 59-year-old Olga Bracero, before taking her own life on Saturday evening inside the family's brownstone on Second Street, the New York Post reported. Officers responding to a 911 call shortly before 8 pm discovered both women dead from multiple stab wounds at the scene.
Mother Told Neighbours Daughter Was 'Fighting Demons'
Deshawn Jackson, a neighbour who said he had grown close to Bracero and Wilson over several years, claimed the mother had repeatedly asked him for help as her daughter's mental condition worsened.
Standing outside the brownstone on Sunday, Jackson recalled frantic calls from Bracero, who allegedly feared Wilson could become dangerous.
'The mother told me that [Wilson] had smoked some bad marijuana and after that just wasn't the same,' Jackson said.
According to him, Bracero later described her daughter as 'fighting demons' and hearing voices 'telling her to do bad things'.
Jackson claimed Wilson had been hospitalised after suffering what he described as severe mental health episodes and was later prescribed medication before returning home.
The situation, he said, remained volatile.
'The mother called me and said, "She's walking around the house with a knife, can you please come get her?"' Jackson told reporters.
He alleged Wilson regularly carried a knife in her pocket.
Authorities have not publicly confirmed any diagnosis connected to Wilson, and investigators have not released further details about her mental health history. Still, the accounts emerging from neighbours paint a grim picture of escalating instability inside the home.
Police Found Both Women Dead Inside Brownstone
New York Police Department officers arrived at the property after reports of an unresponsive woman inside the building. Both Bracero and Wilson were pronounced dead at the scene.
Law enforcement sources told local media investigators believe Wilson stabbed her mother before turning the weapon on herself. Police have not yet publicly outlined a possible motive.
The killings stunned residents in Park Slope, a neighbourhood better known for its brownstones, cafés and young families than violent crime scenes. By Sunday morning, police tape surrounded the property while neighbours gathered outside, struggling to process what had happened.
Chaasadahyah Jackson, Deshawn Jackson's daughter, said she had seen Wilson wandering through the area days earlier, appearing detached and disoriented.
'I saw her two days ago, just walking, totally zoned out, not listening to music or nothing,' she said. 'She was just walking here in the street.'
Neighbours described Bracero as kind, articulate and deeply connected to people around her. A vegan chef, she had reportedly become close with the Jackson family and often spent time with them socially.
'She loved my family,' Chaasadahyah said. 'She was basically part of the family.'
Another Tragedy At The Same Address
What makes the case even more unsettling for residents is that another murder-suicide took place inside the same building less than two years ago. In January 2024, cook Jason Jackson fatally shot his partner, financial planner Olga Kirshenbaum, before killing himself at the address, according to police records.
The latest deaths have left some neighbours shaken.
'This building has a curse on it,' neighbour Christine Doyle, 58, told reporters outside the property.
Several residents said Bracero appeared exhausted and frightened in recent months while trying to manage her daughter's condition largely on her own. Investigators are continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding both deaths.
