Pennsylvania woman charged in stabbing deaths of husband and son at Great Wolf Lodge

Clancy CopycatMore neutral: Another case: woman accused of killing toddler and husband at resort

The label implies the second case copied the first, a causal link the article does not establish.

Another Clancy Copycat?

Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

KillsMore neutral: accused of killing

The headline states as fact a killing that is only alleged in the complaint.

Woman Kills Toddler, Husband at Popular Resort.

Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

horrorMore neutral: case

The word “horror” adds dramatic emotional weight that the reported facts do not require.

Great Wolf Lodge horror as mom accused of killing husband and toddler inside hotel room

Used byFox News (Far Right)

chilling confessionMore neutral: statement to responders

The word chilling adds dramatic emotion to a statement that can be described plainly as a statement to responders.

…accused of stabbing husband and toddler son in resort hotel room before making chilling confession

Used byDaily Mail (Right)

Brutal MurderMore neutral: Fatal Stabbing

The headline adds an emotional intensifier to a killing that the report describes in plain terms.

Mom Arrested In Brutal Murder Of 3-Year-Old Son And Husband

Used byThe Daily Wire (Far Right)

ranted aboutMore neutral: said

Ranted characterizes the woman's speech as angry and out of control, which the affidavit excerpt does not establish.

…she told them she was “suicidal, not stupid.” Metallica Rose Harrison, 27, also ranted about how she worked hard to be “the best mother, the best wife” after calling 911 Monday…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

Clancy ContagionMore neutral: Similar Case

The headline presents a copycat theory as an established trend in a single case.

Clancy Contagion Continuing?

Used byThe Western Journal (Far Right)

chilling final callMore neutral: final call

The word chilling adds drama to a routine video call described as normal by the stepmom.

Stepmom reveals Metallica Rose’s chilling final call with family before she stabbed son, husband — and sign she planned killings for…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

Disturbing detailsMore neutral: Details

The phrase tells the reader how to feel before the details are given.

Disturbing details paint a graphic picture of how a loving father and his 3-year-old son were…

Used byFox News (Far Right)

family massacreMore neutral: family killings

Massacre is a term for killing many people and overstates a deadly incident with two victims.

Great Wolf Lodge family massacre blew up during ‘uncommon’ three-week stay at pricey resort, officials say

Used byFox News (Far Right)

slashedMore neutral: cut

‘Slashed’ describes the wounds more dramatically than the reported cuts to her wrists and neck.

…husband Charles and their toddler, identified by police only as “T.H.,” before she slashed her own wrists and neck, according to authorities and a report by WNEP.

Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

butcheringMore neutral: killing

‘Butchering’ describes the killings in graphic terms beyond the reported stabbing.

Metallica Rose Harrison, the Pennsylvania mom accused of butchering her husband and their 3-year-old son at a Great Wolf Lodge on Monday, had drained…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

bloodbathMore neutral: killings

‘Bloodbath’ adds dramatic emphasis to a case that the charges describe as two killings.

…for the dream vacation, according to her stepmother — who believes she planned the bloodbath in advance.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

KillerMore neutral: Mom accused of killing

Labels the accused a killer in the headline before any court has ruled on the charge.

Killer mom drained husband’s 401(k) for Great Wolf Lodge trip before hacking him, son to…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

hackingMore neutral: stabbing

‘Hacking’ describes the killings in more graphic terms than the reported stab wounds.

Killer mom drained husband’s 401(k) for Great Wolf Lodge trip before hacking him, son to death: step-mom

Used byNew York Post (Right)

horrificMore neutral: murder scene

‘Horrific’ adds an emotional judgement to a scene the coverage otherwise describes factually.

…to pay for their three weeks at Great Wolf Lodge before the vacation ended in a horrific murder scene, family said.

Used byDaily Mail (Right)

raidedMore neutral: withdrew money from

‘Raided’ implies taking money without right, while the reported account is a withdrawal from a 401(k).

Wife allegedly raided husband's 401k to splurge on vacation before stabbing him and son, 3, to death inside…

Used byDaily Mail (Right)

splurgeMore neutral: pay for

‘Splurge’ judges the spending as frivolous, a judgement the sources do not make.

Wife allegedly raided husband's 401k to splurge on vacation before stabbing him and son, 3, to death inside hotel

Used byDaily Mail (Right)

massacreMore neutral: killing

The word adds dramatic emphasis beyond the reported stabbing deaths of two people.

Stepmom says Great Wolf Lodge massacre suspect drained family's 401(k) before pricey weeks-long stay

Used byFox News (Far Right)

priceyMore neutral: three-week

The adjective passes a judgement on the stay that the reporting does not establish.

Stepmom says Great Wolf Lodge massacre suspect drained family's 401(k) before pricey weeks-long stay

Used byFox News (Far Right)

shocking crimeMore neutral: killings

The adjective adds emotional emphasis that the reported facts do not require.

…searched their Pennsylvania home looking for clues to a possible motive to the shocking crime.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

raidMore neutral: search

The word suggests a forceful operation, while the reporting describes officers searching the home.

Metallica Rose Harrison’s tearful mugshot revealed as cops raid home after she allegedly butchered husband, son

Used byNew York Post (Right)

butcheredMore neutral: killed

The verb describes the killings in graphic terms beyond the reported charge of homicide.

…Rose Harrison’s tearful mugshot revealed as cops raid home after she allegedly butchered husband, son

Used byNew York Post (Right)

slaughteringMore neutral: killing

Uses a word for animal slaughter in the outlet’s own voice to describe the alleged killings.

The mother accused of slaughtering her husband and 3-year-old son at Great Wolf Lodge resented him for stealing her…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

disturbing allegationsMore neutral: allegations

Adds the outlet’s own judgement about the allegations in the description of the warrant.

…mom — and resented her son for stealing her husband’s attention, according to disturbing allegations in a search warrant.

Used byNew York Post (Right)

Poconos killer momMore neutral: Metallica Harrison, accused in the deaths

Calls her a killer in the headline before the charges are tried, presenting an accusation as an established fact.

Accused Poconos killer mom Metallica Harrison ‘never wanted to get pregnant’ — and hated son stealing…

Used byNew York Post (Right)

hated sonMore neutral: resented her son, according to a search warrant

States a feeling as fact in the headline, while the body attributes the claim to a search warrant.

Accused Poconos killer mom Metallica Harrison ‘never wanted to get pregnant’ — and hated son stealing hubby’s attention: warrant

Used byNew York Post (Right)

ChillingMore neutral: Had Complaint About Her Little Boy, Relative Says

Adds the outlet’s own emotional judgement to the account of a relative’s complaint.

Mom Accused Of Killing Husband And Toddler Had Chilling Complaint About Her Little Boy

Used byThe Daily Wire (Far Right)

butcheringMore neutral: killing

Uses a word for butchering meat in the outlet’s own voice to describe the alleged killings.

A mother accused of butchering her husband and three-year-old son at Great Wolf Lodge in Pennsylvania was resentful…

Used byDaily Mail (Right)