Two Canadian women were stabbed to death Monday by this woman, Antoinette Pelzer:

She's apparently crazy, and this is being referred to as a "botched" robbery. This is a common trope of reporters covering vicious and brutal attacks on whites—that it was a "botched" robbery, or a robbery "gone wrong." The implication is that the killer didn't mean to kill, just to rob, and if they could have got away with the money, the victim would have been fine.

Toronto women slain in Atlantic City

By Chris Doucette, Toronto Sun

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 8:14:33 EDT PM

Barely 24 hours after what is believed to be a botched purse snatching, the Pennsylvania woman accused of butchering the vacationing Canadians was calm and even had her sense of humour during her first appearance in New Jersey court.

When Superior Court Judge Michael Donio asked Antoinette Pelzer if she had hired a lawyer, the accused stumbled over her words and then began laughing.

“I’m trying to find out where’s my public defence, my public, my . . .,” she said, before bursting into laughter.

The dishevelled 44-year-old appeared puzzled throughout her arraignment and was surprised when the judge mentioned the two victims — ages 47 and 80 — had died.

“Both?” Pelzer asked.

The accused was also taken aback when the judge explained her robbery and weapons charges had been upgraded to include two counts of murder.

But Pelzer, who apparently has mental health issues, displayed virtually no emotion as Donio detailed the heinous killings she is accused of committing in front of Bally’s Atlantic City casino hotel.

It’s alleged Pelzer first stabbed the younger woman repeatedly with a 12-inch butcher knife then turned the knife on the elderly woman when she intervened.

“The (younger) victim fell to the ground and while on the ground the suspect attempted to take the victim’s pocketbook from her shoulder,” Donio alleged. “When the victim would not relinquish (the purse), the suspect stabbed her additional times.”[More]

"Botched purse snatching," "the victim would not relinquish"—it could all have been so nice! And you're not likely to see a headline that says "Schizophrenic Black Woman Stabs Two Canadian Women To Death In Obvious Hate Crime."

Curiously, allthough this Toronto Sun report eventually mentions the race of the victims (surprise! they were Asian!), it does not mention the race of the perpetrator.