momthat drowned her children

ok First of all I know what post partum depression can do to some women, however, I also feel that anyone who murders a child should be dealt with in the manner inwhich they killed the kid(s). I think she should be drowned. I know that seems harsh, but these were her babies. They never did anything to anyone. They never hurt her. They were innocent little lives that she took upon herself to end.
Just like the woman in SC who drowned her two kids in the car, I think they should have put her in a car with the doors welded and the windows screened so that she couldn't get out, and pushed it inot a lake.

I think they should definitely give her some kind of death penalty. I think it is horrible that she did this! There are people out there who can't even have children and this mother did not realize what she was blessed with!!!

Exactly. I would never commit suicide, but I would seriously get help if I had thoughts about purposely hurting my kids. And I would kill myself before I let anyone kill my kids.

I think she should be executed.
I don't want our society to pay to feed and house this woman for the rest of her life, it's sick and disgusting.

FYI

Just thought you might be interested in reading the thread that was posted on this in the Rant and Rave area.

http://www.babyuniversity.com/forums...?threadid=4110

My feelings are mixed...

I have dealt with post partum depression, very much so with my last child. I had depression and anxiety, so much so that they gave me xanex for a while.
At my lowest point of depression, where DH had to stay home from work because I could not bring myself to get out of bed even for a screaming baby, I didn't eat or sleep well, and all I did was cry when anyone looked at me, I could have never imagined harming my own child. Thoughts of harming myself did cross my mind, I can't deny that..but never to harm my own kids. I just don't see how anyone could think those thoughts, let alone carry them out, especially like she did. One at a time. There had to be a point in her mind where she stopped and thought, "what the hell am i doing?"
I think people who do things like that fall into the same category as those who leave newborns to die, abandoned in dumpsters and rest stop bathrooms, they should be sterilized.

Maybe there is something deep inside people that I just don't understand that makes them do these things that you can't understand unless you have been through. Do I feel sorry for her?
NO WAY!! Her punishment? Make sure she never has a chance to have another child, harm another child. I think death is to good, I think death would bring her peace she doesn't deserve. I think and I hope she goes through her life every day thinking about how those kids loved her unconditionally, and she, the one who was supposed to protect at all cost, to love unconditionally right back, betrayed them.

JMHO

I am not sure about this! I was UPSET when I first heard what she did. Of course I felt horrible things about her and still do because it makes me sick that she had these thoughts for a month and did nothing about it. Part of me says she deserves whatever she gets!

But as a person who has never suffered from PPD or the more serious form of PPD (can't remember the name but it has something to do with pychosis), I can't imagine what was going through her mind and hopefully I will never know! Having PPD is definatly never excuse for killing anyone let along your children please don't think that is what I am saying.

I am not sure if she will get death! There are so many other cases out there that could help her just live her life in jail or maybe not even that. Some of the people who never get busted because the claim to be mentally challenged or whatever they say could be what she says and just get sent to the a place to help her! I hope she does not get off that easily. I will say I do not believe she should EVER be give the privalege to raise anymore beautiful children! That should be taken away from her! Like someone else said maybe death would be too easy. But whatever happens to her she definatly needs HELP and lots of it!!!

I believe she should be sentenced to death by drowning. I am so sick of hearing these stories. It is sooo sad. I know many many women who suffer from depression and/or post partumdepression (I do, my mother did and does and so forth). I believe that they can control themselves. And I believe this woman knew exactly what she was doing! She ran around the house...hello!!! I think it is cruel. It is soooo wrong. Sorry I got mad here I just get so sick of this stuff. It is so sad to see innocent children killed!!!!

I think she needs...

professional help. That is all I will say.

I don't know what the proper punishment would be for a crazy, demon-posessed woman. And I mean that seriously; it's so far beyond comprehension and tests all my spiritual beliefs. I wanted to bring up a point that I tried to make with a co-worker who is single, no children. She asked how I thought a woman that disturbed could be left alone with the children - where was her husband, mother, friends? I asked her to think real hard about the last time I came into work on 2 or 3 hours of sleep after being up with a sick child or teething baby; or the last time I had to leave early for a school function... What was the reply from my co-workers? It was usually something to the effect of that was MY problem, MY choice, etc. etc. I even had an argument once with a MALE co-worker who thought maternity leave was like a vacation and that he ought to be entitled to the same benefit (he wasn't talking about to care for a baby either!). Our society has created this monster - mothers are expected to do everything and never complain, and GOD HELP YOU if you do happen to be unhappy at some point because THEY can't wait to jump on you and tell you all about it! This woman had NO SUPPORT! The nature of the disease would preclude her seeking help for herself, and instead of expecting her to suck it up and cope, SOMEONE should have cared enough to intervene!!! There were SO MANY SIGNS!!! I think her HUSBAND deserves punishment TOO!! Parenting is a mutual responsibility, and HE FAILED TOO! YES, she IS as guilty as they come, and I cried and cried imagining these poor, innocent babies expecting her love and getting the ultimate betrayal. But I happen to think that he betrayed his family too by not getting her the help she VERY OBVIOUSLY needed.

Just my opinion, I'm sure most won't agree. But, in my world, the husband is supposed to hold his wife above even himself, second only to God. When she tried to kill herself, he should have gotten those kids away!

Very well said Belinda! I agree with you!!!
Hopefully people will learn from this case and take PPD seriously and reach out and help new moms. THEN maybe those children didnt die in vain...perhaps something good can come from a horrible situation.

I believe this woman should be held accountable in some way, shape or form, but don't feel drowning her is the answer. She is mentally ill -- her husband should have gotten her help; in fact, her DOCTOR should have seen there was a severe problem. She suffered from depression in her previous pregnancies and was already on medication when she became pregnant again. Not only was that a lapse in judgment on both her and her husband's part, her doctor should have warned her and her husband about how future pregnancies would affect her mental state. At the very least he should have encouraged them to put off any more pregnancies until he felt she was more mentally stable. I happen to know several people who suffer from true, debilitating depression and, in fact, lost a brother to suicide because he was suffering from depression. Unfortunately, when a person has a mental disease, they cannot control it without proper medication. And they often cannot control their actions if they aren't taking a proper dosage of medication. Obviously her doctor dropped the ball and her husband should have taken more of a role in her treatment. Yes, it angers me to think that our tax dollars will support this woman, but I also understand that if she is truly mentally ill, she just couldn't stop herself from carrying out this heinous act. And maybe people will finally understand that PPD is not just "being sad" or that women can just "snap out of it" -- it really can be a debilitating condition.

Just the whole thought of her chasing the oldest boy around the house is so horrible to me, it still makes me cry.

Obviously she had other mental instabilities that precluded her PDD, she must have been off-balance even before she had kids.....I have known people with serious PDD that required medication, and they didn't harm their child(ren). She is sick.

I posted my views already, but have to say it again how awful it is, equally as bad as Susan Smith......

I totally agree with you that there definitely had to be an existing mental imbalance to begin with and definitely her doctor should have picked up on this as well as her husband. I also agree that this is without a doubt the worst crime anyone could ever commit. I can't even bear to think about how those babies died. But I disagree in that I don't think she was like Susan Smith; I think Susan Smith killed her children because they were an inconvenience to her love life and she should have been executed. The Texas woman has a mental condition and should have been hospitalized a long time ago. Her pregnancies exacerbated her existing mental condition -- and she obviously had not been prescribed the proper dosage of medication for her PPD and other mental imbalances. Yes, she has to accept the blame for what she did, but so do her husband and the doctor who was treating her.

OK, First of all, I have suffered from depression since I was a teenager. And I am not talking normal teen anxiety. I am talking about the fact that I have been on half a dozen or more different Antidepressants since the age of 18. When I was pregnant with my first son, I was still in depression. I took my medication Every single day. The mood swings were there, the anxiety was there. The fear was there. After he was born, I had the "baby blues'. Then that turned into PPD. Not 3 1/2 months later I found out I was pregnant again. I cried for two weeks. My new baby was still just a baby. How could I do this? What was I doing to our family? to my new baby? to my husband? to our finances? to our marriage? ( we had only been married 10 months). Still in PPD, I went on with my pregnancy. That year was terrible for us. we moved in with my parents, George lost his job, he got a job that took him away from me for 85+ hours a week. So yes, my depression worstened. When My second son was born, I was exhausted. I cried so much, because Duncan was still a baby himself, and now he was also a big brother. I took care of both kids, the house, everything. I often cried myself to sleep. Thinking that this is not how my life was supposed to turn out. Yes, things got soooooo much better. When we decided to try for this baby, we both new about my depression, so did my dr. No one said anything about it. dh and I talked it over for months. And we could not be happier about this baby. Yes, I still am on meds, yes, I am still depressed quite a bit, mood swings form heck. However, I would NEVER NEVER NEVER harm any of my children. Yes it is a physical illness. But there is a time in depression when you know you need help. Some just think it will go away. She sought out help. SHe was on medication. I don't see how anyone can blame her pregnancies for what she did. There is nothing I ever wanted more in my life than my children. Please, I didn't mean to blast you. This just hit me hard. Dont take it personally. But it hurts to think that someone thinks that just because I have gone through PPD, or depression, that I shouldn't have any more kids, or put them off indefinately. Yes, her Dr should have said something to the affect of changing her meds, her husband should have noticed. But they didn't. There are things that are not someones fault, ie: alzheimers, dementia. But these things are far different from depression. In depression, you know what you are doing 99% of the time. Just sometimes you can't see your way out. She knew, she had to know there was another way. She just chose not to find one.

Again, I am sorry for that outburst. I didn't mean for it to sound as harsh as it does. Please don't get angry with me for stating my feelings. I really did not mean for it to be directed at any one person. Just at the subject if that makes any sense.

no one is angry with you, least of all me! i have suffered from mild depression and PPD myself but certainly nothing compared to what you have gone through.

i think you misunderstood my point. i meant that in HER case it was clear that her pregnancies only exacerbated an existing mental condition. her doctor should have counseled her on either waiting until her condition was more under control OR he should have kept a close eye on her as far as her medication was concerned. i don't believe she only suffered from PPD -- i think she was/is manic depressive, which is a chemical imbalance in the brain; my brother suffered from manic depression, but did not seek treatment. i know with all my heart that he did not want to die, but because of his condition, he put a gun to his head and killed himself. he could not stop himself because of his untreated imbalance. i believe that this woman suffers from the same or similar condition. obviously she loved her children; she wouldn't have had them otherwise. but an untreated or misdiagnosed or mis-medicated mental condition could have caused her to react in this way. it may not necessarily have been a conscious, deliberate act on her part. i knew a woman about 15 years ago who also suffered from manic depression. before she knew she had it, she picked up a knife and killed her mother. she told me she didn't want to do it, but her imbalanced brain convinced her that she HAD to do it. she said she doesn't remember doing it, only knowing that it had to be done. she said she felt like she was in a trance. when i met her, she had been on medication for several years. you would never have known my friend had ever done anything as horrible as that in her life. it is very possible for a person to commit the most horrible acts and have absolutely no control over themselves. most definitely there are people who suffer who never lose control, whether through stronger willpower or proper medication, or both. they would never think of harming their children or themselves. unfortunately, only that mother knows whether killing her children was a conscious or an uncontrollable act. i can only speculate that perhaps she just could not control herself.

on another note, i hope that everything is and will be better for you. this sounds pretty stupid, but i wish i could have convinced my brother that no matter how bad life may get, there is always hope.

First of all, that does not sound stupid at all. I even know what you mean. Although it wasn't a brother, it was a friend in high school.

And I also agree with you that her doctor should have kept a much closer eye on her. On her medication, her situation, and her emotional state. Her husband should have known things were not as they should have been as well.
I thank God everyday that we found out about my chemical imbalance and have done something about it, and that there are things out there, like my medication that help me.
Maybe it wasn't a conscious decision on her part, maybe it was. And even the anger I feel towards her seems to dissapate a little when I remember that even if the court and judicial system doesn't punish her, God will.

Just an appendix to my previous remarks, and response to the last few here:

I think if we were all honest with ourselves we 'd admit to a little personal pity party each time we have a baby. Just today, we had to reschedule a PTA meeting and the Pres. got a hot response from a mother who just had her second child about how she couldn't make it, wasn't dragging her kids out, everyone KNEW she couldn't be there on Tuesdays... It was really an inappropriate, very self-centered reply; by the nature of the organization, it's a given that we're all parents, but it was as if SHE were the only one with children to make arrangements for. But, I think she's in that adjustment mode where you think you will NEVER get ahold of your life and get it under control again! (Is it just me, or is it worse going from 1 to 2 children than any other transition?)

And I think that's what happens to these moms who have real PPD, people ASSUME they're just having that self-pity thing we all go through. When, in fact, they are truly crying for help (pardon the pun). And I also think that there's no way to understand it unless you've been there. Thank God, I haven't. I used to laugh at girls who complained about menstrual cramps - until I developed endometreosis! It's easy to trivialize someone else's discomfort when your's has been so mild in the same context. There's no underestimating the power of a hormone gone awry! This is one situation I hope I NEVER come to understand! Because if I do, I've been there, and I don't wanna go!!

amen!

i went from one 12 yr. old daughter to 3 kids -- i have 5 month old twins! and i didn't have any help except for my daughter. yep, there were times i really felt sorry for myself, but i didn't complain -- there were babies to take care of and i'm their mom! there are still plenty of times when i'm so tired, i fall asleep before i can get upstairs. but hey, it's all worth it, isn't it?

sure, merrijo - keep telling yourself that...

(just kidding - wish i were home with mine right now!)

lol

now, let me tell you about the "support" i got when i had to leave my preemie babies in the hospital:

"what's the matter with you? you need to worry more about how to pay for these babies than when they're coming home." -- this was said to me on the way home from the hospital, when i had to leave my babies behind

and

"just because the books say you'll get depressed doesn't mean you have to be depressed." -- this was in response to my crying because one of my babies had to remain in the hospital for 3 weeks

Yep, he really said that. That's why i'm raising my babies alone now.

Everytime I think of what that woman did to her children I cry. So I will try to get through this post without losing it. a couple of weeks after Faith was born I started feeling extremely depressed. My husband had to force me to get up at night to breast feed and eventually I couldn't do that anymore(I wasn't producing enough to feed her) he would get up with her and feed her. I cried all day everyday, and ate everything in the house. I have dealt with depression for most of my life, and this was on top of that. Plus I found out that my husband was cheating on me. I don't think I could have gotten any lower than that. I went through all of that depression and NEVER once did I EVER think of hurting Faith. I would die myself before I would ever do anything to hurt her. I am SO sick of people using this as their defense. I feel that she should be drowned also. It's a fitting punishment for a mother who would drown 4 of her children and then chase the 5th one around the house until she caught him and then drowning him too. It's too bad she can't be drowned 5 times. I pray for the 5 children who had to suffer such horrible deaths by the hand of the person they trusted most, their mother.

You go MerriJo!! How could he say those things to you !!!!

Merijo I can't believe your husband acted theat way towards you. My son Christian was born 2 1/2 months early and my husband never once questioned why I would want to be at the hospital for the month that Christian was in there. In fact we would cry together because it was so heartbreaking. For a few days my husband and I were depressed together because we were so worried about Christian.

I guess it is men like that who don't help matters any. If you are depressed your husband should never help feed the fire by saying mean things like that!

MerriJo,
I am so glad that "man" is no longer apart of your family. Who in the world is he to be so insensitive? the jerk.

just have to give my 2 cents...!!!

I soo think that pond scum lady in Texas to be killed. That is it..and her husband needs to get his mind out of his butt. Why in the world would they have another child when the lady is already depressed. Forget PPD...that is boo hoo crying to me. He is just as much at fault as she is.

She knew what she was doing. She had to chase her 6 or 7 year old down the hallway to get him. HELLO !!!!

I know depression is not fun ride, been there, but I would NEVER EVER harm my child.

The people who PAY taxes in Texas should do whatever they can to have this lady done with. I know this sounds harsh, but she was 100 time more harsh for KILLING her children.

Everyday people are faces with problems, some handle them with common sense and others with they had that much sense to think it through....