CA - Mom charged in death of 4 yo Daniel Corby

[Lovejac]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/02/autopsy-completed-on-slain-4-year-old/

SAN DIEGO — A Carmel Valley boy who police said was killed by his mother over the weekend was identified Monday as 4-year-old Daniel Corby, the Medical Examiner’s Office said.

She flagged down a sergeant in the parking lot and directed him to her car, where he found that the Daniel was not breathing. Paramedics were unable to revive him, Herbert said.

Investigators determined that Corby killed the boy at her Torrey Circle apartment where she lived with her husband, who was at work at the time, Herbert said.

 

[Lovejac]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/03/mother-accused-killing-son-asks-privacy/

A Carmel Valley woman who police said killed her 4-year-old son last weekend has asked for privacy for her husband, according to a statement released Tuesday by an attorney.

Patricia Corby, 36, is expected to be arraigned Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court in connection with the death of her autistic son Daniel.

 

[MsFacetious]

This first article is from April 2nd, while the ones below are after that.
It sounds like she may have confessed but they are waiting for the final autopsy report to release a cause of death? :waitasec:
She is charged with FIRST Degree Murder...



San Diego police sources told 10News Corby was a stay-at-home mother pushed to the edge handling a difficult child with autism.

They say Daniel was drowned and his mother unsuccessfully tried to drown herself before driving her son to a nearby police station.

Investigators with the police department's Homicide Unit would not confirm that information.

Corby was described as being in a state of shock as she watched officers trying to revive her son.

http://www.10news.com/news/30820120/detail.html



A Carmel Valley woman accused of killing her 4-year-old son is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for her arraignment.

--------

Investigators still do not know the boy's cause of death, nor the motive.
Earlier this week, medical examiners released the identity of the boy, but said the investigation of his death is still pending.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Mom-Accused-of-Killing-Son-Due-in-Court-146100365.html



Patricia Corby, 36, flagged down a patrol sergeant driving out of a parking lot at the precinct house about 9:30 a.m. Saturday and asked for help with her son, Daniel, who was unconscious and not breathing in her car, said San Diego police Lt. Ernie Herbert.

Daniel Corby, who turned 4 last week.....

After questioning Corby, detectives arrested her on suspicion of murdering the child.

http://www.10news.com/news/30831423/detail.html

 

[MsFacetious]

I would normally put an adorable picture of Daniel here... but this is all I can find. Hopefully a better one will come out soon...

10News was told that they stayed inside the apartment for the most part.
Neighbors said that when the family did go outside, they kept their child covered up, almost as if to hide him.

However, several people said Corby seemed like an attentive mother.

http://www.10news.com/news/30810281/detail.html



Andelman said Corby and her husband “have availed themselves of every resource the community had to offer for autistic children...”

-----------

She said the parents rented out their La Jolla home and moved to an apartment in Carmel Valley to be closer to the boy’s school.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/03/mother-accused-killing-son-asks-privacy/



They were devoted parents to their autistic son Daniel...

http://www.cbs8.com/story/17326321/...ld-faces-judge-wednesday?clienttype=printable

 

[amandab]

Mom tried to drown herself? Can you do that, really? I mean, wouldn't your body fight that when it all came down to it?

 

[MsFacetious]

San Diego police sources told 10News Corby was a stay-at-home mother pushed to the edge handling a difficult child with autism.

http://www.10news.com/news/30820120/detail.html


This here in my opinion is a must read. Absolutely MUST read.

http://autistichoya.blogspot.com/2012/04/stop-killing-us.html

Yet in the cases of disabled victims, the media does not speak up for the victim.
Even when the killers have confessed or when it is obvious who the murderers were, the media pours sympathy onto the murderers.
Articles about these cases emphasize how stressed the murderers were with the burden of having a disabled family member.
They emphasize how difficult the victim was to live with and how the victim's deficits and challenging behaviors drove the murderer to the edge.

In short, society blames the victim and exonerates the perpetrator.

--------------------------

And each and every time society excuses the murder of a disabled person, our lives become worth a little less.
And it becomes easier for the next murderer to kill one of us, knowing full well that the likelihood of receiving an extremely lenient sentence, possibly with little jail time if any, is very high. And it continues.

It continues.

And one by one, we die.

http://autistichoya.blogspot.com/2012/04/stop-killing-us.html



This unexpectedly hit me like a ton of bricks. I read that LE statement... after bracing and icing my newly separated shoulder.
Crying in frustration because it finally healed and my daughter, raging kicked me directly in the shoulder and tore it again.

Pushed to the edge? I've been over the edge and never even hurt my child. Why is that a defense or excuse? WHY?
I hope she realizes what she did and regrets this forever. But my tears are for those who are crushed by Daniel's death. lease:

This was a 4 year old boy. I don't CARE what his disability was. He was FOUR. If she couldn't handle him she had options.
Her child being more difficult doesn't make her any better than Shelly Dasher, Casey Anthony, Susan Smith, or anyone else.
It just makes her more sympathetic to people who think a child with a disability is the end of the world. lease:

 

[MsFacetious]

Mom tried to drown herself? Can you do that, really? I mean, wouldn't your body fight that when it all came down to it?

Over 400 persons commit suicide annually in Ireland out of which about 100 drown themselves.

http://ilsf.org/node/1733

A case here: Sarah Townsend - http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/07/sarah_townsends_death_is_ruled.html

 

[MsFacetious]

In addition to the review hearing on the 10th, she has another court date on the 17th.

http://www.cbs8.com/story/17330268/woman-pleads-not-guilty-to-murder-of-4-year-old-son

A Carmel Valley woman accused of drowning her 4-year-old autistic son in their apartment bathtub pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and assault charges.

http://www.10news.com/news/30831423/detail.html



Patricia Corby, who faces 25 years to life behind bars if convicted, was ordered held on $10 million bail by San Diego County Superior Court Judge Michael Smyth.

A bail review and status conference is scheduled for Tuesday at the downtown San Diego Courthouse.

http://www.760kfmb.com/story/17330268/woman-pleads-not-guilty-to-murder-of-4-year-old-son



Deputy District Attorney Dino Paraskevopoulos said in court that Corby told the sergeant that she had killed her child.
The sergeant found the boy wrapped in a blanket in the back seat of the car.
The child was wet and water was foaming around his mouth.

The sergeant performed CPR on the child until paramedics arrived and declared him dead.

Authorities searched the apartment Corby shared with her husband and found that the bathtub still contained five to six inches of water.
Investigators suspect Corby held the child under the water until he died.

Paraskevopoulos said the husband was at the courthouse Wednesday but too distraught to attend his wife’s arraignment.

When arguing for the high bail, the prosecutor said the husband had expressed some concern about whether Corby would flee to Mexico if she was released.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/04/mother-pleads-not-guilty-killing-son/

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/d...52e-50a0-b3b0-f6413471cd10.html#ixzz1r8XxJYBR



In an interview that day, she told police that the boy was autistic and that she didn’t believe he would have a life or a future without her, so she decided to kill him, the prosecutor said.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/04/mother-pleads-not-guilty-killing-son/


During an interview after her arrest she told investigators that she killed her son because he "did not have a life or a future without her" and it would be unjust to let him continue living.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/d...52e-50a0-b3b0-f6413471cd10.html#ixzz1r8XxJYBR

 

[MsFacetious]

Obviously... this case is eating away at me and I can't sleep.
Two things particularly are bugging me right now.

1.
Neighbors said that when the family did go outside, they kept their child covered up, almost as if to hide him.

http://www.10news.com/news/30810281/detail.html

I want to think that this was actually a sensory thing. That Daniel wanted to be covered up.
He did go to school... so obviously he could handle leaving the house. Maybe he didn't like walking outside though?
My daughter can be outside all day... but if it starts raining... "It's RAINING on ME!" anic: You'd think it was a tornado. :giggle:

I am hoping that we'll see pictures that will show us what a treasured, loved, cherished little boy Daniel was.lease:

2.
Investigators suspect Corby held the child under the water until he died.

Obviously it bothers me because she drowned her baby.
He had to know it was his Mom doing it to him... and that makes me cry. :tears:

However... was Daniel one of the many children with autism who LOVED the water?
Because if his mother killed him with something he loved so much... that just makes it worse.


This is another one worth the read.

Recently, the mainstream media has once again depicted murders of disabled people in a completely irresponsible way.
Both George Hodgins, an autistic man, and Daniel Corby an autistic boy, were killed within the past month.
Rather than only suggest how unfair the decision of those who ended their lives was similarly to the way other murders are reported; the focus was instead on how these people’s burdensome disability must have contributed to their killer's choice.

It is wrongly assumed too often that our culture is sophisticated enough to demonize the disability without doing the same to the person with the disability similar to the way some describe hating the sin but loving the sinner.

http://diversityrules.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/04/acceptance-and-murder.html


Really, if you think about it... this makes perfect sense.
Who ever suggested any other parent of a 2-5 year old child they killed... just got "overwhelmed" or "pushed to the edge?"
Nobody makes excuses for terrible two's or potty accidents or refusing to eat dinner or any of the other typical little kid stuff.

Those are never a sympathetic excuse for killing your child. Yet... plenty of excuses are made when the child has a disability. :what:

 

[BrownRice]

I agree with all of your points Ms. F. And since you have first hand experience of dealing with a special needs child, if anyone can speak to the stresses of such, it's you.

It does make me angry just to think of it though. Last night when they released the COD, I was surprised - drowning. I had assumed she had just snapped and hit him too hard or something. But drowning takes a lot of time (and strength to hold him down). She had PLENTY of time to stop.

 

[MsFacetious]

I actually had TWO girls with special needs & health issues less than a year apart before I was out of my teens. :seeya:
That's what amazes me about these cases with older Mom's with one or two kids... isn't that why people wait to have kids?

Daniel reminded me a bit of Camden Hughes ... and his mother smothering him for several minutes. lease:
Also reminds me of Malecia Hines... a 4 year old with a disability that was brutally/sadistically killed by her mother. :tears:
I have still not ever found a picture of Malecia. I'm still looking. :tears:

Believe it or not... there are many different "motives" for parents to do everything they can for their child with a disability.
Genuine love and wanting the best for the child... Keeping up appearances for others... Determined to "fix" their child...

I've known parents in all of those areas... and I am interested to see which area this woman falls into. :waitasec:
I am also very anxious to hear what made Daniel so "difficult." :twocents:

(Maybe we could change the title now that more information has come out?
"Mom charged in murder of Daniel, 4 year old with Autism" or something like that.) :waitasec:

 

[fhc]

How does she now plead not guilty. It's amazing what happens to the truth once it's
Baezistardized.

More reactions

http://thautcast.com/drupal5/content/autistic-reactions-murder-daniel-corby

 

[Lovejac]

Oh Ms. Facetious :grouphug: I thought of you when I found this case, remembering your first hand knowledge of dealing with children with disabilities.

It looks like this one has hit you quite hard. I appreciate your opinions and thoughts.

Oh how I wish that more parents were like you. :blowkiss:

 

[MsFacetious]

Pleading not guilty is standard... they have to talk to the prosecutor and everything before deciding how to plea.
Whether charges can be lowered... possible insanity defense... things like that. They don't ever just come in and plead guilty.

I am relieved that people remember I have kids with special needs... that is a good thing. :seeya:

 

[MsFacetious]

I have not seen anything about a funeral for Daniel.
I have not found an obituary.
I have not seen any other pictures either.

Nothing new legally until the court dates April 10th and/or April 17th.

 

[MsFacetious]

A Carmel Valley woman, accused of killing her four-year-old autistic son, will be in court Tuesday morning for a bail review hearing.

http://www.760kfmb.com/story/17373302/bail-review-hearing-for-mother-accused-of-killing-son


Her bail hearing didn't appear to go her way?

Bail Amount: $10,000,000


Charges and next court date:


ASSAULT ON CHILD UNDER 8 RESULTING IN DEATH

25-LIFE

06/12/2012



MURDER:FIRST DEGREE

06/12/2012

 

[MsFacetious]

"Scarlett Chen, an autistic 4-year-old with the cognitive abilities of a child half her age,
was misbehaving, not listening to her mother."

----------

July 2004 - Scarlett Chen - 4 years old

Drowned by her mother in the bathtub.

Mother served 30 months.

Scarlett lived 53, 54 months?

-----------

I would like you to truly imagine an article like this written about a typical child. Just replace Scarlett's name with another one.
Take your pick on the child. Caylee, Juliette, Lily, Emma, Kelsey, Ethan, Riley Ann, Tyler...


She was at her wit’s end after a day of bad news and the extreme stress of taking care of her misbehaving two year old.

She simply snapped.

In a moment of frustration and anger, she pushed her daughter’s head underwater
and held it down until she stopped struggling.


Imagine the defense being that the child was two. In the terrible twos. Throwing tantrums. Having potty accidents.
Imagine a judge saying the below things to any parent who murders their toddler. Just imagine it.

--------------

"Peng wasn’t prohibited from being alone with children because she “doesn’t represent a threat to children,” Nordheimer said.

Justice Ian Nordheimer said the sentence was on the “low-end” of an acceptable range, but acceptable nonetheless, due to the unique circumstances of the case and the “constellation of events” that led to Scarlett’s death.

He cited the stress of the day’s news and Peng’s own mental illness."



"Peng repeatedly told Justice Ian Nordheimer that she wanted to bear more children and wouldn't kill "another baby."

“I won’t kill another baby, I won’t. I will be a good mother.”

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2010/06/15/14402956.html?cid=rssnews

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/06/15/14402716.html


If you have to say "I won't kill another baby..." I'm not sure you should GET another baby to prove you won't kill it. :twocents:

I chose this case due to the similarities to Daniel's. I fear any other comment might get me in trouble. I feel like :sick:

RIP Scarlett and Daniel.
Still looking for a decent picture of Daniel. This beautiful child is Scarlett.

 

[not_my_kids]

So, wait, she killed him because he was a burden and she was pushed to the edge? REALLY? Because I have an autistic six year old. And I have a 2 year old and a four year old and an infant. And you know what? If you wanted to look at it that way, they're all burdens. (Meant lovingly). In one way or another, ALL kids are burdens, they all have quirks, they can all be hard to deal with at one moment and the most agreeable person on the planet the next. That's kids.

As for her excuse that she didn't think he would have the needed care or a good life without her...I don't buy it. Autistic children often have trouble bonding, they have trouble with being more attached to their favorite toys and clothes than they are to any people in their lives. The frustration and the anger and the confusion gets to them and they lash out at anyone and everyone. In short, the concern that I have and that many other parents of autistic children have is that our kids don't really need us for more than the everyday needs of cleaning, washing, and feeding, because it often seems that they don't need us for love or compassion or anything else. There are times that you feel completely useless as a parent...so no, I don't buy it.

I also don't believe that the parents availed themselves to every available service, because if they had, they would have been offered crisis services, especially if he was that hard to handle. And they would have been offered in home counseling and respite care, any of which could have seen the signs of trouble.

In short, he was cramping her style and making her feel like a bad parent because she couldn't fix him, and therefore, she killed him. IMO.

 

[MsFacetious]

Andelman said Corby and her husband “have availed themselves of every resource the community had to offer for autistic children...”

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/03/mother-accused-killing-son-asks-privacy/

Then why is her son dead? She obviously didn't use the resources... because she killed him instead of making a phone call.
Calling anyone in the autistic community and begging for them to come get Daniel, they would have done it. *I* HAVE done it.

You are right Not My Kids - I had two with major special needs in less than a year, before I was 20.
My ASD daughter... could not care less if I'm here or not. She doesn't care when she tears my shoulder or breaks a bone.
Feeling like a bad parent doesn't even begin to describe it. I really don't think that she would care if I died tomorrow.

Obviously there is a reason it is an autistic spectrum... and not all kids are going to be like my daughter. Some are very loving.

The only reason my daughter cares if I am here, is because nobody else really knows how to take care of her.
I think that is what most of these parents mean...
Not that the children themselves care, but just that nobody KNOWS how to take care of their children. :twocents:

 

[MsFacetious]

Still not a thing online about a funeral for Daniel.
I still cannot find a clear picture of Daniel either.

Another wonderful post on this subject:

http://illusionofcompetence.blogspot.com/2012/04/killing-words.html

Also this:

"A lot of people, they get pretty desperate," she said.
"We don't know what caused this mother to do this.
But every mother I know who has a child with special needs has a moment just like that."

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking...c-children-speak-out-sunnyvale-murder-suicide

I heard about this quote from a family member I'm not particularly fond of... in a context that wasn't particularly tactful.
She basically asked me if I had considered killing both of my kids, or only the one SHE considers disabled. :thud:

So I am going to clarify that.

I thought about placing my kids for adoption.
I have often wondered whether my kids would have been better off with college educated experts for parents.

However, I have NEVER "had a moment just like that."
I have NEVER gotten that desperate.
I NEVER considered killing my children.

Didn't consider it when I was pregnant as a teenager and KNEW my child would have a "disability."
Killing her was "perfectly legal" and "strongly advised" at that point. :sick:

Wasn't homicidal for the weeks in the hospital with BOTH kids, with little sleep, no answers and condescending professionals.

I have worked with a lot of parents with children with special needs in the last 10 years. Newborn to adult.
I know a few that have placed the child for adoption after a year or two, because they realized they couldn't handle it.
I can think of ONE parent that has definitely had "a moment just like that." If that child is killed... I won't be surprised.

Maybe myself and my friends are the exception to the rule, though I find it hard to believe.
Maybe most people do think about killing their kids with special needs at some point. :waitasec:

If that's true, I guess it explains why 90% prenatally diagnosed just choose the legal route before they are born. :twocents: