GUILTY CA - Kamilah Russell, 2, smothered, Oakland, 9 March 2010

mikeysmommom

"A grandchild fills a space in your heart that you
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http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=12133811

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A 19-year-old Oakland woman accused of suffocating her 2-year-old daughter is being held without bail after being charged with murder.

Tiffany Lopez, who is three months pregnant, was rolled into court in a wheelchair for her initial appearance Friday. After reading the charges, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert McGuiness referred Lopez to the Public Defender's Office for representation. She was ordered to return to court Monday.


:furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious:
 
From above link:

Police say Lopez initially claimed that she had accidentally sat on her daughter while the child hid under a cushion during a game of hide-and-seek Tuesday.

COME ON!!! She couldn't come up with anything better than that? GMAB
 
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=7322789
She's actually pregnant with her third. She had a six month old too.
The little girls father seems genuinely torn up, like he saw the signs but really didn't know what they were.
She is apparently also abusive to her other child and her middle school age brother as well, so although they say she was overwhelmed, I think it was a little more than that.
Her mother has apparently been telling CPS and anyone else that will listen for months that her daughter has a chemical imbalance and needs help. As usual, no one cared.
 
oh the poor father. how horrible. poor little girl.


I really cant take many more of these this month...and it's only halfwat through..
 
Chemical Imbalance my AZZ! My mom raised me and she was manic depressive and was not on meds at the time they had no idea why she had her spells.She raised 3 daughters and not one of us did she beat on or murder.I am so sick of people using this excuse!!!!! This was overwhelmed then she should not have had so many babies so damn young.There is just no excuse EVER for the murder of a child.CPS never does anything to save children at least 1 first has to be murdered or extremely beaten,then they save the other children if there are any to save.My heart goes out to this child s Grandmom as I know how she feels to a point and I have been praying not to ever see my beautiful grandson as a headline.
 
Let's not use her age as an out. Anyone would be overwhelmed in that situation, I think. Age doesn't matter a darn bit. Older mothers do it too, as we see every day. She chose to give birth to and keep custody of her children. She did not choose adoption or abortion. She made an adult choice, so to me, she is an adult and should be seen and treated as such. You can be 19 or 99, if you are sane and kill a child, you are just a child killer.
 
<snip>

Earlier Thursday, the mother of Tiffany Lopez said calls to police to get help for her mentally ill daughter went unanswered in the months leading up to the tragedy.

Linda Lopez told KTVU that she called San Mateo police 38 times and informed child protective services that her daughter’s children were in jeopardy as the young lady reeled out of control due to mental illness.


http://www.foxreno.com/news/22797458/detail.html

<snip>
She said her daughter has a chemical imbalance and that she became depressed after the birth of Kamilah as well as her 7-month-old daughter.

Tiffany Lopez was given medication to stabilize mood swings when she was 10, her mother said. After a year, her symptoms subsided, only to resume after Kamilah was born, Linda Lopez said.

"She went into postpartum depression, and all the old behaviors came back," she said.

Her daughter has refused professional help, she said. "She doesn't get that she needs help. She doesn't want to admit it to herself because her brain doesn't think that way," Linda Lopez said, adding that her daughter's behavior from one day to the next is "like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

In an interview with KTVU-TV, the father of the girls and the unborn child, Joseph Russell Jr., said Lopez had called him from jail and admitted that she had put her hand over Kamilah's face and held it there until the girl stopped breathing.

Tiffany Lopez lived until recently in San Mateo. Linda Lopez said she had repeatedly contacted police there and San Mateo County Child Protective Services to report her concerns about her daughter and to seek psychological help for her, to no avail.

San Mateo authorities declined to elaborate on any incidents, and Child Protective Services officials say they cannot discuss specific cases.
.........................................................
In February, Lopez was charged in San Mateo County Superior Court with two counts of child endangerment and one count of resisting arrest after an incident involving her 11-year-old brother, prosecutors said.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/11/BAQH1CEDNQ.DTL


The grandmother tried getting someone to listen to her about the kids being in a dangerous situation.

What was CPS doing about the child endangerment situation from February??

I'm sorry (((Mickeysmommom))) that you are having to live w/ knowing what you know, and no one listening to you & protecting your grandangels.
 
im not really having much sympathy for dad if he saw the signs and did nothing.

and if she was 'overwhieled' that's a great reason to not have kids by the time your 19 :(
 
If you're not ready to be overwhelmed...don't ever have kids.
 
Mom accused of smothering tot because of crying
Saturday, March 13, 2010

Lopez initially told Oakland police that she had accidentally sat on Kamilah as the two played hide-and-seek Tuesday in their apartment on the 2800 block of High Street, authorities said. Lopez said the girl had been hiding between seat cushions on a couch, said Tom Rogers, chief deputy district attorney.

But Lopez later admitted that she had become frustrated with Kamilah's crying, Rogers said. The mother put her hand on the little girl's nose and mouth, smothering her, the prosecutor said.

snip

Lopez's mother, Linda Lopez, said Thursday that Kamilah's death was an accident, caused by an overwhelmed mother who suffered from mood swings and depression.

Tiffany Lopez weighs nearly 300 pounds and didn't realize she had sat on the little girl, Linda Lopez said. She said her daughter had confessed to police only because she had been interrogated for 12 hours.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/13/BAJV1CEVDE.DTL

Rest in peace, Kamilah Russell.
 
accident my *advertiser censored**

this sounds like emma baker all over again
 
Her next hearing appears to be March 23, 2012... they haven't even gone to trial yet.

http://www.co.alameda.ca.us/sheriff_app/inmateSearch.do

There are very, very few cases when I even entertain the "overwhelmed" excuse.
This is not one of them.

Russell left the family's Oakland apartment Tuesday evening. 45 minutes later, he got a call from Lopez saying Kamilah had stopped breathing.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=7322789

45 minutes??
After 45 minutes she was so overwhelmed she had to kill her child because she was screaming for Daddy??

I was lucky if my daughter ONLY screamed for 45 minutes.
I was 19.
I had two kids, less than a year apart AND both had special needs.
She gets no sympathy from me.

My only sympathy goes to the kids and those who loved them.

Kamilah...

kamilah3.jpg


kamilah2.jpg


kamilah.jpg
 
We need better support systems for mom's today. I raised 5, practically alone. Hubby was navy and gone a LOT. But we had better support systems-family, extended family, friends...I think it makes a big difference.
 
Well, if it's true that she had been treated for mental illness since she was 10, why is it out of the question that mental illness had nothing to do with it? I'm not 100% comfortable judging this woman until I know more. I know how my daughter is when she doesn't take her meds..pretty scary.
 
She should got life IMO-She knew covering her baby's mouth would hurt or even kill her..
12 yrs is nothing...

RIP little angel!!!
 
I'm not excusing this woman's behaviour, but I suffer from a pretty serious personality disorder and yes I also have kids (2 under 2), yes they overwhelm me and sometimes I go into what my therapist calls crisis mode.. It's whilst I'm in crisis mode normal actions and everyday tasks don't make sense, my crisis is determined by the emotion involved ie. anger causes me to get worked up and angry..

All the above being said I know when I'm about to have a crisis and remove myself from the kids and house.. MOO but mental illness could be contributing factor.. Doesn't excuse what she did though.
 
I'm not excusing this woman's behaviour, but I suffer from a pretty serious personality disorder and yes I also have kids (2 under 2), yes they overwhelm me and sometimes I go into what my therapist calls crisis mode.. It's whilst I'm in crisis mode normal actions and everyday tasks don't make sense, my crisis is determined by the emotion involved ie. anger causes me to get worked up and angry..

All the above being said I know when I'm about to have a crisis and remove myself from the kids and house.. MOO but mental illness could be contributing factor.. Doesn't excuse what she did though.

Agreed. I suffer with Borderline Personality Disorder, ADHD and PTSD. Before having my son I just barely scraped by. Anytime I would have a major crisis I sought help and when I felt better I quit. I had a traumatic birth experience, which worsened my PTSD, and after one month I was all alone until my husband came back from deployment. Needless to say, the first few years were extremely tough for me. Even when my husband returned he was little to no help. To top it off my son was very difficult and never slept longer than 4 hours at a time until he was 4 years old. I quickly spiraled down. I was angry and bitter and screamed a lot. I did things I am not proud of. It finally got to a point where I knew if I didn't get help I would snap. Thankfully medication and therapy helped me regain control. It's been a very tough road.


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