Mother in Duxbury murders her two kids (Harvard: horse, best)

[simplexsimon]

Originally Posted by msRB311

That wouldn't surprise me at ALL on the 3 kids thing being a status symbol or something, thank you for mentioning it! I have noticed quite a few women popping out a 3rd kid at 40 or even over. One of my co workers announced her 3rd pregnancy at work and a very liberal male co worker goes, on purpose? lol. And guess what, this woman was upset when she found out she was having a boy, she was hoping for a girl!

Another family friend had been having marital issues, lots of money though and next thing you knew she was pregnant with a 3rd at 39. No idea if baby #3 helped the marriage but they are still together. I know of many examples like this.

I was done at 2. I didn't start having kids until I was almost 36 and two was enough for me. I see pictures of babies and think of what it would be like to have one more and I just don't feel the need or want to have one (i'm also 44 now which plays a big part). When I lived in the city i noticed smaller families, people having 1 or 2 kids...or none. But now that I'm out in the burbs I notice many families with 3 kids, sometimes 4. And these people love posting all over social media of what they and their kids are doing all over the place. Part of the image thing i guess.

I wondered if it was the same thing for this person given her social media presence. To have the three kids certain years apart would be better than waiting.

[skeddy]

Mother's becoming a victim here as expressed by some of the media.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by skeddy

Mother's becoming a victim here as expressed by some of the media.

I mean, there's no question that the kids (and whole family, really) are the true innocents here. But is there a reason that the mother can't also be a victim to some extent? Being a victim of a mental illness that lead to her killing her children does not make her "innocent." Sure, from a legal perspective, it could land her in an locked psychiatric institution ("not guilty by reason of insanity") for the rest of her life rather than a prison, but is that really "getting off?" Her life is over either way. You don't bounce back from that. And being locked in a facility is being in a locked facility regardless of what you want to call it. I know it's often more palatable for people to separate things in stark terms like good vs. evil, but the reality's a lot more gray. This is a pretty good example of that.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

I wondered if it was the same thing for this person given her social media presence. To have the three kids certain years apart would be better than waiting.

You think having 3 kids close together would be easier than having 2 and waiting? she was only 32.

And yes many people on the Duxbury facebook page are very empathetic towards this woman. A friend of mine posted her feelings otherwise saying she feels bad for the husband who's kids died at the hands of his wife and she was ostracized. She ended up removed her post. So basically the feelings on the town FB page are if you don't feel bad for the mom then you're an awful person.

I guess Areosmith visited quite a few of the first responders. That's pretty cool.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I mean, there's no question that the kids (and whole family, really) are the true innocents here. But is there a reason that the mother can't also be a victim to some extent? Being a victim of a mental illness that lead to her killing her children does not make her "innocent." Sure, from a legal perspective, it could land her in an locked psychiatric institution ("not guilty by reason of insanity") for the rest of her life rather than a prison, but is that really "getting off?" Her life is over either way. You don't bounce back from that. And being locked in a facility is being in a locked facility regardless of what you want to call it. I know it's often more palatable for people to separate things in stark terms like good vs. evil, but the reality's a lot more gray. This is a pretty good example of that.

She is a victim of an awful mental illness i guess. When people kill animals no one feels bad for them regardless of how mentally ill they might be. It's hard to fathom why everyone should feel bad for a mother who has killed her 3 kids. Is she evil? I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and say no. Sounds like she went into some kind of manic psychosis. None of us know though. She will likely be locked in a facility for life.

I guess what bothers me too is Ana Walshe's husband also had mental illness and was in a facility at some point. No one is feeling bad for him that maybe he went into some rage and killed his wife. Why are we supposed to feel bad for someone because they're a mother or maybe just because they're female? It could be said that many people who murder are mentally ill. That just doesn't make it ok. They're bad apples either way and should not have the privilege of freedom.

[Beachcomber4]

Why don’t people feel the same empathy for Walshe and his illness? He was a diagnosed sociopath. He kiled his wife but spared his innocent children. Don’t get me wrong, I think he is a monster.

[Remy11]

The third child, Callan Clancy, died today.


https://www.wmur.com/article/duxbury...-6m6AJOtJWnWuU/

Oh whoops, I just saw this was already posted. Sorry about that.

[Beachcomber4]

Originally Posted by msRB311

She is a victim of an awful mental illness i guess. When people kill animals no one feels bad for them regardless of how mentally ill they might be. It's hard to fathom why everyone should feel bad for a mother who has killed her 3 kids. Is she evil? I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and say no. Sounds like she went into some kind of manic psychosis. None of us know though. She will likely be locked in a facility for life.

I guess what bothers me too is Ana Walshe's husband also had mental illness and was in a facility at some point. No one is feeling bad for him that maybe he went into some rage and killed his wife. Why are we supposed to feel bad for someone because they're a mother or maybe just because they're female? It could be said that many people who murder are mentally ill. That just doesn't make it ok. They're bad apples either way and should not have the privilege of freedom.

It’s funny because Ana was constantly being characterized as a mother but her job status and social media showed a business woman first and foremost. I supposed being a mom makes someone a more sympathetic soul.

[Remy11]

MSRB311,
You make a good point about people trying to get the gender they always wanted so they end up having 3 and 4 kids. I know someone who ended up with 4 boys and then finally stopped when she realized the little girl she always wanted just wasn't in the cards. We say she has three boys and a boy.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by msRB311

She is a victim of an awful mental illness i guess. When people kill animals no one feels bad for them regardless of how mentally ill they might be. It's hard to fathom why everyone should feel bad for a mother who has killed her 3 kids. Is she evil? I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and say no. Sounds like she went into some kind of manic psychosis. None of us know though. She will likely be locked in a facility for life.

I guess what bothers me too is Ana Walshe's husband also had mental illness and was in a facility at some point. No one is feeling bad for him that maybe he went into some rage and killed his wife. Why are we supposed to feel bad for someone because they're a mother or maybe just because they're female? It could be said that many people who murder are mentally ill. That just doesn't make it ok. They're bad apples either way and should not have the privilege of freedom.

Ultimately, nobody should be telling anyone how they should feel about any of this stuff. People process differently, and clearly this hits close to home (in a number of ways) for a lot of people. I'm just saying that it's not letting the mother off the hook if someone wants to acknowledge that she's probably not pure evil incarnate (and even feeling a little pity for her too) in spite of all that happened.

I think there are pretty big differences between this case and Walshe (or someone whose mental illness leads them to kill animals for fun). She is a parent of young children (who were fully dependent on her for everything), who posted publicly about suffering from PPD (seemingly in an effort to get help and offer support), had a psychotic break, and then nearly took her own life immediately after. It's sad, all the way around that she reached that point. Walshe's husband seemed to have a more premeditated approach and then spent days trying to cover his tracks. Nothing about it seems like an otherwise good guy who had a psychotic break. Obviously they're all sad in many ways, but I think there's a pretty good reason that this case stirs up more empathy for the killer than Walshe's.