Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't know how far this is true, but someone who said they know the family posted on a forum that the boy is mute, so maybe that explains it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by michgc
If it was an accident I feel horrible for the whole family including the mother. We've all had crazy days! If it was done intentionally, then the mother should fry in hell.
I looked up his obituary, though, and what concerns me is that the boy was almost 3 - one month away. What almost 3-year old boy sits silently in the backseat of a car for any length of time? In other words, how could she not have known he was there? I would be less suspect if it was a newborn. I could totally see a sleep-deprived new mom or dad forgetting that a sleeping newborn is in the backseat. An experienced mom of 3 kids with an almost 3-year old in the back seat? Seems more difficult for me to understand that.
And I understand Christine's view that maybe she is totally flaky, disorganized, and scatterbrained. As a mom of 3, I have those days sometimes. On the other hand, she is a veterinarian! She must be somewhat organized and intelligent to have gotten into verterinary school and become one. I guess that doesn't preclude her from being disorganized and scatterbrained in other areas of her life. Or she could have been suffering from depression. That to me, seems the most likely. But who knows? It's sad all the way around whether it was intentional or not.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,784 posts, read 15,850,517 times
Reputation: 10909
Quote:
Originally Posted by cdmurphy
I just can't believe she got into her car when she left work, drove all the way home, got out of the car, and not once noticed her child dead in the back seat. She never looked in the rear view mirror while she was driving? My twins are the same age her son was (almost 3). I check the mirror all the time, even when they're not in the car. It's just habit.
Yes, the thing is once you are a parent for any length of time, it is habit. I'm not sure how old her two girls were, but I'm guessing at least one of them is older than than the boy. In which case, she's probably been a mom for about a minimum of 5 years with three kids. That's why I could almost understand a brand new mom (or dad) leaving a sleeping newborn in the car and forgetting about him. Because they aren't used to having to look after someone yet, a sleeping baby is quiet, and they are more than likely sleep-deprived. It's harder for me to understand an experienced mom with an older kid doing this, unless like someone suggested she has a medical condition, is depressed or extremely busy/disorganized/scatterbrained, etc.
Yes, the thing is once you are a parent for any length of time, it is habit. I'm not sure how old her two girls were, but I'm guessing at least one of them is older than than the boy. In which case, she's probably been a mom for about a minimum of 5 years with three kids. That's why I could almost understand a brand new mom (or dad) leaving a sleeping newborn in the car and forgetting about him. Because they aren't used to having to look after someone yet, a sleeping baby is quiet, and they are more than likely sleep-deprived. It's harder for me to understand an experienced mom with an older kid doing this, unless like someone suggested she has a medical condition, is depressed or extremely busy/disorganized/scatterbrained, etc.
As a mother myself, I have a hard time comprehending how this happens. I don't understand how, not ONE time, she doesn't look back and see the rear of her car, there or back? I have a new Odyssey as well, whenever I check my blindspot or look back to change lanes or look in my rearview, I catch at least a glimpse of my youngest's car seat. I don't understand how a nearly 3 year old stays silent. Not just talking, but they didn't move or play with anything or make ANY noise whatsoever? You don't remember strapping your child into that 5-pt harness carseat when you got in?
This is a very sad story, but I don't like this whole vibe of "it could happen to anyone", because I don't believe that to be true at all. And what's to stop someone who really does want to kill their child from just leaving them in the car and claiming "Oops, my mind went on auto-pilot, I didn't mean to" and getting away with it? There are many laws that, even if you don't MEAN to do it, you still get punished for being negligent and are held responsible. This is one of those cases. While I don't think they can prove murder since it would be hard to prove her intent, criminally negligent homicide/involuntary manslaughter certainly would be something I'd convict her of.
I have to agree with MrsEvie. Can you imagine if you did this once how horrified you would be? I mean, how many measures would you take to ensure this never would happen again? How hard would it be to put your purse in the back seat every time you got into the car?
There was a similar tragic case in Manassas a few years back, where it was the father who inadvertently left the child in the van. It's very difficult to comprehend that someone would intentionally murder their child in this manner, so I think the murder charges are excessive.
It's a tragic accident, IMO, and can happen to anyone. I once forgot my dog in the car for a few minutes, as she fell asleep on the way to the groomer, after coming in on a redeye flight. It was in the winter, and when I walked across the parking lot, I realized that I was there for the dog. Another time, I set out to take the dog to her groomer, and drove right past the salon to where I needed to go. When we're on auto pilot, as many can be in the morning, or at other times of the day when they have brain fog, all sorts of things can happen.
Volvo had a heartbeat detector for the key fob on certain models as an option, as the intruder detector. And, it has to be accessed via the key fob, not an automatic function. Had it been marketed differently, as a safety device for children and pets, I think it would have had promise. However, it was marketed more along the lines of the hidden slasher in the backseat, not unlike a bad horror movie. I wish they had made the feature work with recirculating air-conditioning and heat in the passenger cabin, while sounding an alarm. Many cars can recirculate the air when the car is turned off, so that would not be a problem, and after that expires, the horn should sound and the windows open for ventilation. The other thing that such a system should be capable of doing is remembering the number of doors opened when the car was first started, and then when it is shutoff. I agree that seat sensors should also be utilized as they are currently in many cars for the air bag deployment. It would not be difficult to determine that there was weight there, combined with the door opening, to conclude that this might require driver attention if both conditions are not met when the doors are attempted to be locked with the windows up, especially in conjunction with a heartbeat detector like Volvo had developed.
__________________
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
How can you be so sure? Let me play devil's advocate for a second. There is absolutely no evidence to believe that this is just an accident. Someone could very easily have purposely placed their child in that car and left them in their to die. It also doesn't help that this was the second time that she did this and the only that prevented the first one from not ending tragically, is the fact that the daycare called. I'm certainly not suggesting that she did this on purpose, but how can you prove that this wasn't the case?
Leaving a two year old is pretty hard to believe. I have a two year old myself and usually my car rides with her in the morning consist of her telling me about the buses going by or the trucks or the trees, etc. etc. It usually is a constant conversation. I know all kids aren't like that, but even when she's not talking, I always look back at her to see what's she doing. It's just one of the those things as a parent that you do. When she's around it's hard not to take your eye off of her. And with that said I guess that's my point of having that title as the question. It's not necessarily meant to be loaded, even though I do see why you would think that, but it's to ask, what could possibly be going on that is so important that you leave your child? I'm just curious if anyone has an answer to that.
The idea that a woman would intentionally kill her own child just seems so far fetch. The prosecution would have to bring more evidence than what's been reported to prove intention to kill. Although like previously mentioned involuntary manslaughter or negligance isn't out of the question. I still say murder is a bit much.
Also if the child was deaf that would rule out him talking. I don't have children but my roommate has a 3 year old and she's only quiet when watching tv. She's forever asking questions her favorite being "Where are you going?" and "Where have you been?" She's worse than my mother LoL. Although as someone mentioned he's still going to communicate whether its signing to his mother or playing with a toy, still demanding some type of attention. He also could've been sleeping.
I just don't think intentionally killing the child is the first conclusion I'd jump to despite this not being the first time this happened. Although I will admit that this being the second known time that this happened doesn't help her case.
I don't guess it would work in a car, but my school bus has the "Child-Chek" system. This system forces the bus driver to walk 40 feet to the very back of the bus and press a button....if you don't do it, the horn starts blowing.
Kids left on parked school buses is a national problem...which is why they invented Child-Chek. When I park my bus, I walk back and forth to the rear of the bus at least twice and look under every one of the 26 seats...little kids have been known to curl up UNDER a seat and they can be hard to see.
We have missing kids just about every day and the dispatchers often ask for volunteers to go check a parked bus...I've done it many times, but (fortunately for the driver) have never found a kid. (Only the newer buses have Child-Chek)
What cracks me up is the attitude of the kids themselves....on my high school run last year, I had several sets of siblings riding. One day near the end of school, I noticed this one set get on the bus...when we got to their stop, the boy is walking off the bus alone. So I said to him, "Hey, where's your sister?"....and he answers, "Um, she's sleeping".
I actually had to tell him to go wake her up...he was just going to leave her on the bus! LOL
BTW teachers, backtracking to take sleepers home is one of the MANY reasons that buses are sometimes late to their next school!
Playing devil's advocate to your devil's advocate:
Is there evidence that it was done purposefully? Sure, this is the second time it's happened, but that's not evidence that she did it purposefully.
"How can you prove this wasn't the case"...there's no need to prove it wasn't, if there's no evidence indicating it was.
If I were the prosecution I would point out that this is the second time that this has happened and during the first time, she didn't get the child until the daycare called her. It's definitely hard to argue either way, but just that fact alone makes it look really bad for her.
There was a similar tragic case in Manassas a few years back, where it was the father who inadvertently left the child in the van. It's very difficult to comprehend that someone would intentionally murder their child in this manner, so I think the murder charges are excessive.
If you are referring to the case where the family had 13 kids, I can ALMOST understand it. He had 13 kids, they all went out in one of those big commuter vans. As large families often do, the father was relying on one of the other kids to get the younger child out of the car. The other kids, thought the dad was going to do it. Everyone thought the other one had the baby. I can see how that happens in a household with 13 kids.
I'm having a hard time coming to terms with this one.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
