Mother who tried to murder her severely autistic son and kill herself to be spared jail...

[AGXStarseed]

(Not written by me. Edited to remove the word suffer - with the exception of quotations)

'I just can't watch my darling suffer anymore': Mother who tried to murder her severely autistic son and kill herself to be spared jail because she 'acted out of love, not anger'

• A 63-year-old mother pleaded guilty to planning a 'mercy killing murder-suicide'
• She has spent over three decades caring for her non-communicative autistic son
• The woman attempted to seek help from support services but nobody answered
• After the murder suicide failed, she called Triple Zero and made a full confession
• She was spared jail by Justice Coghlan and given a community corrections order

A desperate single mother has been spared jail after it was revealed that she planned a 'mercy killing murder-suicide' after more than three decades caring for her severely disabled son.

In May 2017, the 63-year-old woman drugged her 33-year-old non-communicative autistic son before slitting his wrist and then trying to kill herself, according to the Herald Sun.

But when her plan was unsuccessful, she called 000, made a full confession and has now pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder before the Supreme Court.

Justice Paul Coghlan urged compassion, telling the court that he had 'no intention' of sending the woman to jail and will instead give her a community corrections order.

It is understood that her husband used to help her care for their disabled child, but stopped doing so after the breakdown of their marriage.

On the morning of the failed murder-suicide, she had made multiple phone calls to community support services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme for help, but nobody answered.

She then penned a number of letters to family members, detailing her heartbreaking decision, apologising in advance for her actions and begging forgiveness.

In one letter, she told her ex-husband that she couldn't watch her son 'suffer' any longer, and pleaded with him not to hate her.

'I brought him into this world and he will leave with me. May God forgive me, he will suffer no more,' she wrote.

In another addressed to her other son, she wrote that she could no longer watch her 33-year-old child suffer, told him that she could no longer help his brother and asked him to understand how sorry she was for her decision.

She also penned a series of letters to her sisters, saying that she had 'simply grown too tired' to cope.

'I hope you won't give me a hard time...I just can't watch my darling suffer anymore,' she said.'He is tormented on a nightly basis...When you see a rainbow, think of us...We will be at peace.'

The woman's lawyer, Tim Marsh, told the Victorian Supreme Court that his client was motivated by compassion and love, not anger.

He also explained that she had actively sought help on multiple occasions and requested mercy and understanding for the desperate mother.

Justice Coghlan lamented that in society's battle for tougher and longer prison sentences, people have lost sight of the importance of empathy.

'As a community we ought to be judged...not on our ability to punish but on our ability to show compassion,' he said, adding that a jail time would benefit neither the woman nor the community.

She has been given an intervention order that allows her one supervised visit with her son per week, and will be formally sentenced on Monday afternoon.

For confidential support, call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14.


Source: Mother spared jail after planning to kill autistic son | Daily Mail Online

 

[Riley]

...

Guess my brother was right along. He can get away with murdering me. As long as he says he was trying to spare me or something.

...

Okay, wisecracks aside:

This makes me so mad, you wouldn't believe it. This proves my point in why empathy, compassion, and mercy hurt more than they help. Yes, I do believe in justified murder; If your 'victim' was a rapist, murderer, or both/other. But...But NO! Unless this autistic boy raped and strangled a 3-year old to death, you have no right to consider killing him. Nor will I be willing to look the other way.

Side Note: This story comes from a known tabloid, AGX. So it might not even be true.

 

[Ambi]

The only reason this happens is because that son didn't have a voice. The law should have been the voice for him - instead they ignore him like a piece of furniture and only listen to the mother. I sympathize with the mother for sure - but this is a terrible precedent. This woman was NOT motivated by compassion and love, it was craziness - I'm sure she was driven pretty nuts by the stressful situation, but let's call that desperation, not compassion and love, because going down that route makes it seem like the loving compassionate thing to do is for people with ASD to cease to exist. I suppose in countries where euthanasia will be legal, it will be perfectly legal soon enough for parents to euthanize their autistic children. There's got to be a better way, and obviously the systems in place don't provide that.

 

[Riley]

I meant compassion on the part of the courts.

 

[Ameriblush]

The road to Hell is paved with "good intentions" :/

Seriously, did the biddy seriously think that because he wished to not speak he is somehow "suffering!?!" I hope this guy can write so he can explain how bull this is. I'm not one for the Slippery Slope Argument, but how long will it be before we allow mercy killings or instant euthanasia for anyone just diagnosed with HIV or cancer? The first one being super suggestive and the last two are illnesses that are survivable with proper care. Goodness.

 

[Ameriblush]

...


Side Note: This story comes from a known tabloid, AGX. So it might not even be true.

Ha ha, I hope. But the thing is, why would you fake something like that? That's worse than some of the stories I've read in tabloids for kicks.

However, I've seen this happen once before IRL, so I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[OkRad]

OMG. I was engraged when I read the title till I saw she was a senior!! Clearly, she is not balanced. Still, murder??? Why did she NOT tell someone before??? If I EVER thought of killing anyone ( I don't even kill roaches, I take them outside,) I would TELL SOMEONE.
OPen your freakin mouth!!!! Um, this is just too odd. It was HER suffering she wanted to end, not his.

Now I know there are cases worldwide where caretakers did kill their autistic charges because the services are so shoddy. That is a terrible thing that happens, though not a trend.

But still, if you are the discombibulated, for GOD'S SAKE tell someone and suck up the consequeances and get some meds and mental health care and monitoring....but don't kill someone, especially someone you LOVE??!!!

 

[Mia]

This is really sad, not in the least a mercy killing. Some personality disordered mothers can't separate themselves from their children. They believe that they own them, much like extensions of themselves, or a pet. They don't see their child as an individual and because of that, they can decide their fate.

Often the government, benefits from parents taking care of their disabled children. It costs the state much less, and is out of their hands. Yet sometimes these children or adults experience abuse and in this case, ultimately betrayal by their caregivers. There should be measures in place, visits by social workers to monitor their well-being, both of the carers and their charges.

Recall that there used to be 'respite' care, for individuals who were full time carers of parents and sometimes their disabled children. Where the cared for individuals would stay at a facility temporarily, so that their full time carers might go away for a time.

 

[Gritches]

I make no bones about this: If he wasn't autistic, that woman would never see the light of day again. Instead, the guy got a status lower than that of an animal. That's justice for you.

 

[Ambi]

I make no bones about this: If he wasn't autistic, that woman would never see the light of day again. Instead, the guy got a status lower than that of an animal. That's justice for you.

YES.....if that woman had done this to a litter of puppies she would have gotten a harsher judgement.