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| -Lurid Crime Tales- | ||
| Mom confesses she killed autistic child | ||
| 2008-01-13 | ||
| PEKIN, Ill. - A woman accused of killing her autistic daughter testified Friday that she attempted to suffocate the 3-year-old with a pillow three days before she succeeded with a plastic garbage bag. Karen McCarron said she couldn't go through with it using the pillow. When prosecutor Kevin Johnson asked her how long she held the bag over the toddler's head soon after, she replied about two minutes — until little Katie stopped struggling. In a videotaped confession played in court Thursday, McCarron said she began having thoughts of hurting her daughter a year before the May 2006 slaying but put them out of her mind. On the day of the killing, though, the thoughts were stronger than ever. "They were so intense," McCarron said. McCarron, 39, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murder, obstructing justice and concealment of a homicidal death. She was found mentally fit to stand trial, but a medical expert hired by her attorneys has said she was insane at the time of the killing. Aren't they always? And not sane enough during the prior year to ask for help, either? McCarron, a former pathologist, testified she felt responsible for Katie's autism because she allowed the child to get vaccinated. Some people believe autism is caused by a mercury-containing preservative once used in childhood vaccines. Rather have her die of some childhood disease?
Using a plastic bag and the prosecutor's arm, McCarron demonstrated for jurors in Tazewell County Circuit Court how she placed a bag over her daughter's head and pushed her to her knees, the (Peoria) Journal Star and the Pekin Daily Times reported. "Were you able to see her face as she fell to the floor?" Johnson asked. "Yes. I could see her face through the trash bag," McCarron answered. McCarron said she listened for a heartbeat after Katie stopped struggling. "I just put my ear to her chest," McCarron said. "I heard one, then I heard nothing." The child had scratch marks on her head and bite marks were found inside her mouth and on the bag as she apparently tried to free herself, according to other testimony. The taped confession was made while McCarron was hospitalized after attempting suicide, investigators said. Wearing a hospital gown, she appears sitting on a bed next to her husband, Paul McCarron. Karen McCarron said she killed her child hoping to "fix her" and give her peace in heaven. I'm sure she's up there right now thinking "Thanks for sacrificing your earthly existance for me, Mom!" "Maybe I could fix her this way, and in heaven she would be complete," she said on the tape. Maybe. Karen McCarron said on the videotape that she took her daughter's body back to her own house and put her in bed. She then went to the store, bought ice cream and returned to her mother's home to get the garbage bag because, "if things get bad, their house would be searched." Interviewers asked McCarron if she knew what she did was criminally wrong. "I have enough education to know that," she answered. Good thing we have education or nobody would know these things.
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| Posted by:gorb |
| #7 My wife and I have been foster-parents for some pretty messed-up kids, including some with autism, bipolar disorder, and others. You can't do it alone. These children will totally exhaust you, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Unfortunately, society considers anyone who asks for help as a failure, when in actuality they're the sane ones. This mother needed help. Now she needs a jail cell. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-01-13 20:21 |
| #6 "some people just can't handle it" My wife works in a residential facility for kids with severe disabilities including severe autism. The tab for the round-the-clock care and special educational effort is typically picked up by the home state and school district. Parents are free to visit any time or not at all. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2008-01-13 18:29 |
| #5 Not to excuse what Mrs. McCarron did, nor to argue for ameliorating the sentence, but being the parent of any handicapped child takes a lot more than normal parenting; some people just can't handle it. There was a story of just such a situation here last year The mother was wise enough to turn the child over to the authorities... and then the foster parents ended up killing him when he was four. (Yes, the foster parents were both jailed for it.) Clearly, having medical training doesn't guarantee the ability to think clearly. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-01-13 17:27 |
| #4 There have been so many studies refuting the claimed thimerosal-autism link that it should be criminal to even bring it up in public again. Here was one that came out last week: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4099059&page=1 I was shocked to see that even more money has been wasted on these studies. This woman was facing a difficult life and opted for murdering a helpless child. She deserves the maximum penalty. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2008-01-13 17:06 |
| #3 by the way - Imus's wife Dierdre is one of the biggest thimerasol ninnies - she should have to respond to this - bitch |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-01-13 15:17 |
| #2 give her a |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-01-13 15:15 |
| #1 I don't think she fits in or society. It is tempting to ask for volunteers to asphyxiate her with a bag, but then what do we do with th volunteer. Just send her to Peshewar, she'll fit in fine. Should be plenty of work for a pathologist. Everybody wins. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2008-01-13 14:53 |