Charges: Champlin woman sent notes threatening to 'taste' neighbors' children

A suburban Twin Cities woman is accused of sending anonymous notes threatening to "taste" or "lick" her neighbors' children.

Carrie Pernula, 36, was charged by summons Thursday with stalking and disorderly conduct.

Police say she was upset because the neighbors' two elementary-school-age children were noisy and left items in her yard.

Word of the strange incident began to spread online after the first note arrived Sept. 27.

The letter, which was sent through the postal system and on plain paper, read only: "The children look delicious. May I have a taste?"

Alarmed by the message, a member of the family posted a photo of it to the Champlin community Facebook page, saying in part "To the individual who sent this letter … The answer is NO! NO you may not have my children in any way, shape, or form."

Neighbors and other Champlin residents reacted quickly and urged the family to take the disturbing note seriously.

Later, the family began to receive magazines with unnerving labels, according to WCCO-TV.

"Instead of a name on the address label it said things like 'tasty children' — along those lines," Champlin Deputy Police Chief Ty Schmidt told WCCO.

Police traced the magazine subscriptions and arrested Pernula on Oct. 16. She was released from Hennepin County jail on Monday.

Pernula's attorney, Debbie Lang, called it "an unfortunate and complicated situation for everyone involved," according to the Associated Press.