Woman told police she killed autistic daughter to ‘fix her’

[Guest guest]

http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/23363.asp

Woman told police she killed autistic daughter to `fix her'

By KEVIN SAMPIERGATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICEPublished Friday, January 11, 2008

PEKIN — McCarron killed her autistic daughter as a way to "fix her" and felt relieved after the child was dead, according to a videotaped confession played Thursday during her trial.

"Maybe I could fix her this way, and in heaven she would be complete," McCarron told police during the interview May 15, 2006, two days after she allegedly killed 3-year-old "" McCarron by suffocating her with a plastic garbage bag. McCarron, 39, described the killing in her own words and gave a first-hand account of what took place the day she drove to her mother's empty Morton home a few blocks away from her own. There, she wrapped a garbage bag around 's head while she played with toys on the floor.

"I didn't wake up that morning thinking I was going to do this," McCarron said on the video, saying it was a "spur of the moment" idea.

"It was just so fast. Everything happened so fast."

McCarron couldn't accept 's autism, she said, something witnesses have testified to during the past four days.

"I loved very much, but I hated the autism so, so much," McCarron said. "I hated what it was doing to her."

McCarron's thoughts of hurting the child started about a year before the slaying, she said, but she put them out of her mind. Those thoughts "were so intense" the day of the murder, she said.

McCarron said she felt like a failure because of 's autism and was sad and hurt because the child couldn't interact with her very well.

"I just wanted autism out of my life," she said, adding it was frustrating and heartbreaking for her to watch the child fail at simple tasks.

She also said she felt "relieved" after the murder because she no longer had to deal with 's autism.

She described taking 's lifeless body back to her own house and putting her in bed as if she were asleep. She then went to the store, bought ice cream and went back to her mother's to retrieve the garbage bag because, "if things get bad, their house would be searched."

McCarron also told police about her suicide attempt with Tylenol and a kitchen knife.

"I attempted to do one slice against my wrist, but I didn't like it," she said, adding she didn't know if she'd be brave enough to go through with it.

Police interviewing McCarron, a former pathologist and graduate of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, asked her if she knew what she did was criminally wrong, to which she said, "I have enough education to know that."

McCarron also described the moment she first learned had autism and how it changed everything.

"I cried hard when she first got her (autism) diagnosis. Then I stopped crying. I was always trying to figure out how to cure it," she said.

Family members who have testified said both statements were true of McCarron, who showed no emotion toward the girl and didn't cry after her death.

They said McCarron was obsessed with finding a cure, doing research, hiring therapists and putting in a special school in North Carolina. They also said the progress made was never good enough for McCarron, who was constantly critical of the girl.

"I tried very hard to lessen the effects of autism," she said. "I sent her to a very good school."

Prosecutors rested their case Thursday after calling forensic pathologist Violette Hnilica to the stand. Hnilica performed the autopsy on and said the girl had teeth marks on the insides of her lips, a bite mark on her tongue and signs of pressure against her mouth.

[Guest guest]

Recalling a quote that I posted in reply to the story of crow reminded

me of something that applies to this mother. She was so damned worried

what OTHERS thought of her daughter's condition and in her vainity,

wanting what she could never have, murdered her daughter.

Kim

> Woman told police she killed autistic daughter to `fix her'

[Guest guest]

Re:

> Recalling a quote that I posted in reply to the story of crow reminded

> me of something that applies to this mother. She was so damned worried

> what OTHERS thought of her daughter's condition and in her vainity,

> wanting what she could never have, murdered her daughter.

>

As quoted inthe news-story, Mrs. McCarron also said that she killed

so that would go to Heaven where God would make her

" complete " (presumably, by removing 's autism).

Do we ever hear of parents killing blind kids, or deaf kids, or lame

kids, for the same reason (that they see the child as " incomplete " and

want to send the child to Heaven to get " completed " ?) I see

news-stories about parents killing their autistic kids, but I haven't

seen news-stories about parents killing their blind kids or their deaf

kids in the name of " completeness " or whatever.

You don't ever read about a mom or dad saying: " I loved but I

hated his blindness, so I killed him " ...

What (in the eyes of some parents, at least) makes autism particularly

" kill-worthy " ?

(so that they'd kill an autistic kid but — as far as I can

tell — they wouldn't kill a blind kid)?

Kate Gladstone

[Guest guest]

" What (in the eyes of some parents, at least) makes autism particularly

" kill-worthy " ? (so that they'd kill an autistic kid but — as far as I

can tell — they wouldn't kill a blind kid)? "

I bet that while this woman will be convicted, people will still nod

their heads in sympathy at what this " poor woman " had to endure while

she was " taking care " of this child.

People can make arguments like this woman has and ALMOST get away with

it because people generally have a low tolerance and low threshhold for

dealing with difficult circumstances.

Tom

Administrator

[Guest guest]

It's so devastatingly sad that she could not see the beauty of her own

child.

Raven

Co-Administrator

>

>

> Recalling a quote that I posted in reply to the story of crow reminded

> me of something that applies to this mother. She was so damned

worried

> what OTHERS thought of her daughter's condition and in her vainity,

> wanting what she could never have, murdered her daughter.

>

> Kim

>

>

> > Woman told police she killed autistic daughter to `fix her'

>