A prosecutor says a Massachusetts woman who stabbed her two young children to death did so as part of a "ritual."

Authorities say 43-year-old Latarsha Sanders told police she attacked her 8-year-old son with a kitchen knife as part of a ritual but failed, and so she attacked her 5-year-old son.

Prosecutors said the older boy was stabbed 50 times.

Their bodies were discovered in separate beds in their Brockton apartment on Monday after Sanders asked a neighbor to call 911 because she was having a medical issue. The boys were last seen by their grandmother on Saturday.

Sanders was arraigned on two counts of murder Tuesday and was ordered held without bail. Her lawyer said he had just begun representing her Tuesday morning and didn't comment on the specific accusations.