GUILTY CT - Wyatt Matteau, 2, dies after finding loaded gun, Jewett City, 28 Aug 2008

PattyCake

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Once again folks - we have mother of the year award.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,425302,00.html


Court documents show that moments before a Jewett City toddler fatally shot himself, his mother warned him not to touch his father's gun because of the "bad boo boos" it could cause.

An arrest affidavit details how 2-year-old Wyatt Matteau grabbed the gun from a nightstand and shot himself in the eye while his mother was in the bathroom.



So instead of actually locking up the gun away from a 2 years hands and also not have it laying around fully loaded, she just gives the little guy a 'warning'. Wow, her brains should be all over the floor. :furious:

Thankfully the parents are charged, at least they may serve some jail time for being absolute idiots.
 
Wow. What an idiot. Who could expect a 2 year old to understand those dangers logically and put the gun away? And why the heck did they have the gun not locked up with a toddler in the house in the first place? Ugh. RIP little Wyatt.
 
so sad :(
RIP sweet baby boy ...
 
I just hope they no longer have their 4 month old either!!! I'm sorry, no parent deserves to keep their children when they've shown complete incompetence towards the safety of their own children. This was a completely avoidable death. Just infuriating.
 
Becky Mattueau's Myspace is private, but there's a photograph of lil Wyatt on there with his baby sister.

What an incredibly awful thing to happen to this poor little boy. Senseless.





http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=59923230

I can't believe that she is on myspace! I would not be able to function if something happened to my baby. And it says how much she loves him, if she loved him that much the dummy should have taken the gun and locked it up!!!
 
unbelievable. she logged on today and posted that she's distraught. yah, ummm, gee, i wunder why?! distraught. Soon I hope you'll be without your other kid as well. give me a break. no sympathy on this lady's end. sorry.
 
This is so incredibly sad. WTF is wrong with people? Who in their right mind leaves a loaded gun on a nightstand with young children around? This could have been avoided. I hope they take the younger child and put her with caring cautious parents.

Rip little angel.
 
Here is a good article with the uncle of the little boy: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news...le-says-he-warned-toddler-s-parents-about-gun

Absolutely heartbreaking.

According to the Uncle, she (mom) was afraid of the gun.... she had called him once before to move the gun that was left out.

The article states the father is a trained EMT and firefighter... This really gets me... being an EMT/firefighter he knew what gun wounds looked like... and yet he left a gun on the night stand EVERY night?!?! He negligently would leave it out with a toddler around?!?

I hope they both get the book thrown at them. This mom should have thrown out those guns, and this "dad" should have known better than keeping a gun out with little babies around.
 
According to the Uncle, she (mom) was afraid of the gun.... she had called him once before to move the gun that was left out.

The article states the father is a trained EMT and firefighter... This really gets me... being an EMT/firefighter he knew what gun wounds looked like... and yet he left a gun on the night stand EVERY night?!?! He negligently would leave it out with a toddler around?!?

I hope they both get the book thrown at them. This mom should have thrown out those guns, and this "dad" should have known better than keeping a gun out with little babies around.

You are absolutely right. The LEOs in my family who are required to have their service weapon in the home with them are so incredibly careful with it that I cannot believe this man would leave it out so recklessly. I hope both parents are charged. Even if the mother were afraid of the gun, she was not afraid of her child and could have removed him from the room before leaving him unattended to go to the bathroom. Or she could have done what I and millions of other moms have done throughout history and surrender our privacy to ensure the safety of our babies - she could have just taken him with her.
 
You are absolutely right. The LEOs in my family who are required to have their service weapon in the home with them are so incredibly careful with it that I cannot believe this man would leave it out so recklessly. I hope both parents are charged. Even if the mother were afraid of the gun, she was not afraid of her child and could have removed him from the room before leaving him unattended to go to the bathroom. Or she could have done what I and millions of other moms have done throughout history and surrender our privacy to ensure the safety of our babies - she could have just taken him with her.

Ditto -- my fiance is required to have a gun for his job, and he keeps the safety on at all times. the gun is kept in a lunchbox, which is inside of another box that is locked, in the closet, on the top shelf.
 
A firefighter left a loaded gun in a drawer where kids could get at it?

There's something not right about that. I'd think a fireman would be a responsible gun owner. Count me in with those who either have guns or grew up with guns in the home. The only time we ever saw a gun on my dad was when it was in his holster and he was walking out the door or coming in.

The parents of this little boy are due in court on October 1st.
 
I realize this is a few months old. Has there been any follow up? This makes me so incredibly angry and sad. My brother is a federal officer, required to carry his firearm.

My dad bought a gun safe for said gun to be locked in any time my brother and my kids were both at the house visiting. All were just visitors to his house, in the house together just a few times a year. But my dad went the extra mile to prevent a tragedy from happening. Thanks dad.

What the heck were these people thinking? What kind of drugs was this mother on that she stood there, warning a two year old baby about "bad booboos"? I'm so sorry for their loss, but this crime was completely preventable.
 
According to the Uncle, she (mom) was afraid of the gun.... she had called him once before to move the gun that was left out.

The article states the father is a trained EMT and firefighter... This really gets me... being an EMT/firefighter he knew what gun wounds looked like... and yet he left a gun on the night stand EVERY night?!?! He negligently would leave it out with a toddler around?!?

I hope they both get the book thrown at them. This mom should have thrown out those guns, and this "dad" should have known better than keeping a gun out with little babies around.

There is a new device that is a gun safe that opens only with a fingerprint. A biometric gun safe that can be left on your nightstand so that it can be locked and loaded YET cannot be opened by anyone unless their fingerprint is designated. I pray this family gets one. I think these should be required by law if you own a gun.
 
I have a toddler. Compared to many toddlers I've known, mine listens very, very well. She typically will not touch something if she knows she's not supposed to. HOWEVER, she is still a toddler! There are occasions when I tell her not to touch something and she does it anyway just to see how I'll react. Even if you have a kid who is practically perfect, they're still going to test the limits or touch something they're not suppose to at some point. Why on earth would you leave a loaded gun out? As for mom being scared of the gun... Fine, people get skittish around guns, but you don't let your kid around it or just give a warning. As a previous poster said, you take the kid to the bathroom with you. Then, you close the door to the bedroom and keep your kid in sight at all times until the dad gets home. Then, you quietly tell him to put the gun away and that you will discuss this later (later is when you rip him a new one for leaving it out!)
 
From July 2009:

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/article/20090730/NEWS/307309910

The Jewett City couple arrested for negligence after their 2-year-old son shot and killed himself with his father’s handgun last summer will not have to spend time in prison...

Jason Matteau was granted acceptance into the accelerated rehabilitation program, a two-year probationary period for first-time offenders. His criminal record will remain clear if he follows conditions of his probation until July 1, 2011...

Rebecca Matteau pleaded no contest to negligent storage of a firearm and risk of injury to a minor, both felonies. She received a suspended two-year sentence and two years probation.
 

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