Exclusive | Heartbreaking first pics show great-grandmother who was stabbed on Atlanta MARTA train: ‘Nobody was helping her’
The devastated daughter of the Atlanta train passenger viciously slaughtered by a homeless maniac in a random attack ripped local officials for opening all stations for free in the city, and then failing to police them.
Margaret Swan, 66, had her throat slashed and then was stabbed 18-20 times when she was ambushed by the madman who attacked her random, cops said.
Shanae Sams, 46, said glaring security gaps and a temporary free transit policy on the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) led to the heinous daylight killing Saturday morning.
66-year-old Margaret Swan was brutally murdered on a MARTA train in Atlanta. Courtesy of Shanae Sams
John Elijah Matthews is accused of fatally stabbing 66-year-old Margaret Swan on a MARTA train. Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
“To me, it’s negligence with the security and the patrolling,” Sams told The Post Monday, noting how renovations across the transit system have led to free rides for commuters.
“Anybody has access to get on and off the trains. If you’re allowing free stuff like that, for me, police patrolling was negligent, there was no security, there was nothing.
“The whole situation is a situation that could have been prevented.”
Margaret Swan is seen holding two children in an undated photo. Courtesy of Shanae Sams
Swan was sitting alone on a MARTA train around 11:30 a.m. Saturday when John Elijah Matthews, 25, was caught on horrific surveillance footage boarding and hovering over her before allegedly pulling out a knife and slitting her throat, according to a warrant obtained by 11Alive.
The terrified rider — a mother of three, grandmother of five and great-grandmother of four – screamed and tried to escape, but the suspect allegedly held her down and stabbed her another 18 to 20 times before leaving her dead on the ground in a large pool of her own blood.
Police investigate the scene of a deadly stabbing on a MARTA train in Atlanta. FOX 5
John Elijah Matthews is seen here being detained by police after a fatal stabbing on a MARTA train in Atlanta. Instagram/@lifeaspariss__
“She was screaming for help and nobody was helping her,” Sams said.
“There’s no words that can explain how we feel right now. We are all lost, confused, angry and scared. It is just too much. Why was there no security? Why is nobody trying to prevent his from happening?”
