Boy Offers Robber $4 in Vain Bid to Save Mother’s Life

A boy who tried to save his mother’s life by offering a robber $4 listened helplessly from his bedroom as the man stabbed her to death, police said today.

Joanna Woods, 39, was slain in her home Wednesday by a knife-wielding man who knocked on the door around 4 a.m. and forced his way in when she answered, investigators said. The intruder demanded money and started beating the woman.

Her 12-year-old son told police he ran into the living room after hearing his mother scream, then went to his bedroom and got the only money he had and offered it to the man, police said.

The boy told police that the man threw it on the floor and said, “I don’t want that. I want some money.”

After begging for his mother’s safety, the boy was ordered to his room by the intruder. The boy came out one more time and saw his mother being stabbed, officers said. When the man left, the boy called police.

The dying woman used her last word to tell her son she loved him, investigators said.