01-18-2008, 03:33 AM
Quote:
Mom Convicted in Autistic Girl's Death
4 hours ago
PEKIN, Ill. — A woman who claimed she tried to "fix" her 3-year-old autistic daughter by suffocating her with a plastic bag was convicted of murder on Thursday after jurors rejected her insanity plea.
The defense had argued Karen McCarron was deeply depressed and became delusional the day she killed her daughter in 2006. But the prosecutor called McCarron a selfish woman who wanted to be free of autism.
In a videotaped confession played during the trial, McCarron told police she could no longer deal with her daughter's illness. People with autism often struggle to control impulses, and children with autism can be difficult to manage. Some witnesses testified during the trial that McCarron was embarrassed by her daughter's condition.
"Maybe I could fix her this way, and in heaven she would be complete," she told police during the interview two days after Katherine "Katie" McCarron's death.
Jurors deliberated for nine hours over two days before finding the 39-year-old guilty of two counts of murder, obstructing justice and concealment of a homicidal death.
McCarron, who had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, was immediately taken into custody. She faces up to 100 years in prison when sentenced.
Prosecutors said Karen McCarron drove the little girl to her parents' house in Morton, and suffocated her with a plastic bag. McCarron reportedly told police she'd taken Katie for a drive to calm her after she couldn't get the girl to take a nap.
McCarron then brought Katie back home, carried the little girl past relatives as if she was asleep, and laid her down in a bedroom. McCarron, apparently panicked, told family a while later that she couldn't wake her daughter.
Emergency workers found the little girl not breathing.
Police didn't consider McCarron a suspect until emergency workers were called to the house early the next day to treat the woman for an overdose of over-the-counter drugs.
One psychiatrist testifying for the defense said earlier in the trial that Karen McCarron was severely depressed and guilt-ridden the day she killed Katie.
"Karen was severely obsessed with the idea, and she believed it, that she caused her daughter's autism," defense witness Dr. Joseph Glenmullen said.
But another disputed that testimony.
"She knew what she was doing," prosecution witness Dr. Terry Killian said. "She was stressed, yes, but she was able to make a rational decision."
4 hours ago
PEKIN, Ill. — A woman who claimed she tried to "fix" her 3-year-old autistic daughter by suffocating her with a plastic bag was convicted of murder on Thursday after jurors rejected her insanity plea.
The defense had argued Karen McCarron was deeply depressed and became delusional the day she killed her daughter in 2006. But the prosecutor called McCarron a selfish woman who wanted to be free of autism.
In a videotaped confession played during the trial, McCarron told police she could no longer deal with her daughter's illness. People with autism often struggle to control impulses, and children with autism can be difficult to manage. Some witnesses testified during the trial that McCarron was embarrassed by her daughter's condition.
"Maybe I could fix her this way, and in heaven she would be complete," she told police during the interview two days after Katherine "Katie" McCarron's death.
Jurors deliberated for nine hours over two days before finding the 39-year-old guilty of two counts of murder, obstructing justice and concealment of a homicidal death.
McCarron, who had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, was immediately taken into custody. She faces up to 100 years in prison when sentenced.
Prosecutors said Karen McCarron drove the little girl to her parents' house in Morton, and suffocated her with a plastic bag. McCarron reportedly told police she'd taken Katie for a drive to calm her after she couldn't get the girl to take a nap.
McCarron then brought Katie back home, carried the little girl past relatives as if she was asleep, and laid her down in a bedroom. McCarron, apparently panicked, told family a while later that she couldn't wake her daughter.
Emergency workers found the little girl not breathing.
Police didn't consider McCarron a suspect until emergency workers were called to the house early the next day to treat the woman for an overdose of over-the-counter drugs.
One psychiatrist testifying for the defense said earlier in the trial that Karen McCarron was severely depressed and guilt-ridden the day she killed Katie.
"Karen was severely obsessed with the idea, and she believed it, that she caused her daughter's autism," defense witness Dr. Joseph Glenmullen said.
But another disputed that testimony.
"She knew what she was doing," prosecution witness Dr. Terry Killian said. "She was stressed, yes, but she was able to make a rational decision."