Found Alive TX - Christine Woo (fnd dec'd), 39, & 3 kids, Frisco, 28 March 2016

[mrsobrien]

How traumatizing for those children. I can't even imagine.

I find it odd that he went to work as usual next morning (although left later after telling his boss his wife was missing IIRC). If I was worried about my wife and thought 24 hours had to pass before contacting police, I would not be showing up for work...I'd be looking, making phone calls to friends and family, enlisting help to search, etc. This casts some suspicion on her husband IMO. Unless she "disappeared" before like this with the kids because they'd had an argument or something.

I can't entirely agree with this. The impression that I get is that Mr. Woo is very committed to his work, perhaps too much so. I feel like he may have been so focused on his job that he failed to be an involved and attentive partner to his wife and missed warning signs of her mental wellbeing. Even after Christine and the kids went missing....maybe he didn't know what to do except work.

My own husband went straight to work after our son was born prematurely and was fighting for his life. I was furious with him at the time! I realize now though that he was in shock, trying to do "normal" things to cope and avoid the seriousness of reality.

Not excusing Mr. Woo. He should have been there. I bet he either knows that now, or will soon.

 

[Cricket99]

Target has surveillance cameras, so maybe they are reviewing them to see if they can see the car. I hope the autopsy results will be released to the public.

I hope so too - sometimes with suicides we never know the WHY which drives me nuts but I don't really need to know in the end as it is not my family

 

[verbonica]

How traumatizing for those children. I can't even imagine.

I find it odd that he went to work as usual next morning (although left later after telling his boss his wife was missing IIRC). If I was worried about my wife and thought 24 hours had to pass before contacting police, I would not be showing up for work...I'd be looking, making phone calls to friends and family, enlisting help to search, etc. This casts some suspicion on her husband IMO. Unless she "disappeared" before like this with the kids because they'd had an argument or something.

I don't know, but I suspect that some people have a difficult time asking for help... maybe due to denial, pride, timidity or fear of embarrassment.

I've experienced only 2 mild instances where I had people overdue and had great angst about calling around to everyone, and especially about calling police. One time I did call police to check on the person and they were found to be ok very quickly (I was a little bit embarrassed). The second time, I was >.< close to calling the highway patrol and did call one relative in the middle of the night, but while I was agonizing about doing it the overdue person showed up.

This situation seems to be clear-cut, but it's impossible to get into someone else's mind.

 

[mrsobrien]

FWIW, I've spoken to a therapist in the past who focused his caseload on the Asian community. He told me that there is a serious stigma connected with many Asian Americans in regards to mental health. In general, they are less likely to seek help. This was a conversation from a few years ago, so I don't have facts to back it up, but I thought it was noteworthy here.

http://reappropriate.co/2013/10/men...yths-about-asian-americans-and-mental-health/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1071736/

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20150212/asian-americans-mental-health

 

[Portabella]

My personal opinion is she was out running errands....stopped for lunch....Drove across the street to eat the food in the car, and had a medical episode. I also agree the baby was probably being fed, and watched closer so food would be broken up and would not choke. She may have put up the shades simply due to the sun being in their eyes, just for comfort during the meal. I think something medical occurred and she was rendered unconscious very quickly. I do not believe the baby was in her arms the three days, but....if in pain due to severe rash, dehydration and miserable, I think the baby put itself in her lap for comfort from Mom. Just my Opinion....

 

[AC's Grandma]

In response to the husband and his going into work on Tuesday. If he works for a company like I do, if you miss work you get an "occurrence," 3 occurrences in a 6 month period are grounds for dismissal. I'm not sticking up for him but just putting it out there. There are many companies like that, especially if you're in customer service in a call center like setting. When I was first hired by the company I work for, I was NOT able to take ANY time off for the first 120 days, doing so- regardless of the reason - including hospitalization, resulted in immediate termination.

 

[Maiko]

Does anyone know how close this McDonald's is to where she was parked? Could someone going there see her car? All I can think is her husband didn't go to McDonald's because, by the time he realized she wasn't at home, the trip to McDonald's was hours past. But, the police?

I just can't see how her car was missed by everyone for so long.

Maybe something, at some point, was parked so it blocked her car from view? I don't necessarily mean it was parked with that intent, but just it happened to do that. Do people ever park RVs in that lot?

McDonalds is essentially across the street. If you look toward the Target parking lot there are other businesses that face McDonalds so the view is obstructed. I've driven from the McDonalds to the shopping center where Target is located, as you enter the elevation changes just a bit and you drive up hill a bit, curve to the left slightly and then the lane straightens out. The parking lot is quite large and I'm not sure where she was parked. I've parked under the trees away from the front of the store when I was on the phone or whatever. There are also businesses and fast food restaurants that face HWY121 so I can see how her car would be mixed in with many other cars.

I've never seen any RVs in the lot but there is plenty of room for them.

Oh - I just had a thought! I should drive over there late at night and see how many cars are in the lot. Does anyone know how late Target employees stay after the store closes?

 

[December]

There is maybe a piece of information missing about the going to work. Remember when the media called Christine's phone and her sister answered. Maybe he convinced himself she was at her sister's and then Tuesday, he found out she was not. It doesn't have to be exactly that, but maybe some thing happened to change his mind.

Either that or he had a deadline and had to go in, or felt he did, then left when he could.

This being said, it is my opinion, he didn't directly cause this. I think if he had, the car would've been found much sooner. So, just so people know where I am coming from... And I could be wrong.

 

[Eileen730]

She's a loving mother, a great wife. She's the most stable person you could ever meet," Brandon Woo said.

The mother's cause of death will be determined by a Collin County medical examiner


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/missing-mom-found-dead-in-car-with-kids-unharmed-in-backseat/

 

[December]

Maiko, for some reason I can't like your post! But, I would if I could.

With the elevation you describe, it sounds like if someone was at McDonald's, they might not see it.

Driving over would be a great idea.

So, I am picturing the scene better... Thank you.

 

[Eileen730]

http://static.lakana.com/media.fox4... mom_1459513964585_1139829_ver1.0_640_360.jpg

http://static.lakana.com/media.fox4...cene_1459474569699_1138205_ver1.0_640_360.png

 

[JeannaT]

I hope so too - sometimes with suicides we never know the WHY which drives me nuts but I don't really need to know in the end as it is not my family

There isn't usually a "why" with suicides that others would understand. Like there's not a "why" mothers with baby blues dissolve into tears - except there are brain chemical squirting around in there making them very emotional. Sometimes, there is a clear "why" that someone kills themself, like a diagnosis of a fatal and horrible disease, but usually it's because they are overwhelmed with pain.

 

[December]

Well, if it was medical, we might know within a few days. If there was another cause, we'll have to wait over a month probably for the top screen. This case is so sad.

However, I believe it does illustrate the problem with child seats and child locks. I keep coming back to the oldest plain old couldn't get out of the car without assistance. Edited: speculation by me, not fact.

 

[birdsmomma]

One thing that keeps gnawing at me is...

I am not sure that I've seen anything from LE confirming that the family was eating Mickey D's in the car, just that they had made a purchase there.

If they did in fact purchase lunch there, why would they not go in to Mickey D's and eat but rather eat in the SUV? I would think that eating with small children, it would be much easier to eat at a table than in a vehicle.

I really hope this was a medical emergency. As Portabella speculated, I hope the baby crawled up in moms lap for comfort.

 

[Bootsctr]

It's WAY slower at every pharmacy I've ever used or seen or with one.

I don't have kids, but I'm disabled, so in theory the drive-thru would also make far more sense for me, as well, especially since I'm supposed to do the absolute minimal physical exertion possible.

But having 5-10 plus cars ahead of me in the drive-thru makes it consistently 30+ minute wait, and ultimately more detrimental for my body.

The difficulty of getting myself in and out of the car, in and out of the store, and waiting in line is always significantly quicker and in a backward way, less exertion than a significantly longer outing due to excessive waiting in the drive-thru.

And if I were to hit it at a really bad time - pre-post commute time, lunch time, immediately after school, the drive-thru can be even worse - and that's been my experience at multiple pharmacies.

IMO there can be a variety of reasons someone might go in - even if meant having to get 3 kids in/out of the car.

This post rings so true for me too! And not just Walgreens, but CVS, Wal-Mart, etc., etc. Just an opinion, but I think that you get faster service if you go in person. The situation with waiting for RXs has gotten worse and worse....

One thing that keeps gnawing at me is...

I am not sure that I've seen anything from LE confirming that the family was eating Mickey D's in the car, just that they had made a purchase there.

If they did in fact purchase lunch there, why would they not go in to Mickey D's and eat but rather eat in the SUV? I would think that eating with small children, it would be much easier to eat at a table than in a vehicle.

I really hope this was a medical emergency. As Portabella speculated, I hope the baby crawled up in moms lap for comfort.

Then you posted this about them eating Mickey D's in the car. Thank you! I think she probably did use the drive-thru there. Just not a fan of those play pits and the kiddo always seemed happy with the Happy Meal in my life experiences... It's just so weird! It definitely would be easier to eat at a table and be free to move around and make sure everyone was able to handle their meals. This may be one thing we never know...

I keep thinking how much over-the-counter sleep meds would you have to purchase to OD. Nothing over-the-counter works to help me sleep very well - nadda! Benadryl makes me the sleepiest of anything over-the-counter. If she did take her own life by OD, she must have purchased a huge bottle of sleeping med. If you buy a small quantity they're all in the single wrap, and it seems it would take forever to open enough to do any damage. I dunno! I just couldn't do it. I'd be throwing up. This case literally shocked the you-know-what out of me! I figured they had been abducted! When PerfectingPink posted that they had been found in the Target parking lot, Christine dead, but children alive.... I don't know! It hit me like a ton of bricks!

Prayers for the Woo family! And thank you to our locals for keeping us updated!

 

[adjones826]

We have alerts set up for every cc purchase after I shopped at an online store and there was a breach in their online customer database which they didn't reveal for almost two months. The store was popular with members of a very large forum I belong to, some who rarely shop online, so the fact there was a breach and which store it was became evident shortly after it happened. Many, many people's cc numbers were used fraudulently often with the first charge being for less than a dollar. Making tiny charges that won't trip alerts is a method thieves use to find out if the card is still good. I got tired of checking for charges to my card everyday and turned on alerts for all charges, no matter how small.

Weeks later I was alerted to a 95 cent charge made on my card several states away. I called the cc's fraud dept immediately just as charges totaling over $1k were being made. The card was cancelled right then and I was spared having to go through the hassle of convincing the cc company the charges were indeed fraudulent.

We've since caught a card being used locally to buy gas and lunch while we were home. Another relatively easy fix, especially with it being local. We've also caught other irregularities including double-billing at a major drug store chain. One card is shared and we both get alerts on it. Mine go to email, filtered to their own folder, but my husband prefers text messages, which would drive me nuts. It was a hassle at first but now it's our norm.

I do agree it can be used as a method of control but given how much cc fraud occurs, I don't think it's unusual. They could've turned alerts on when Target announced the breach of 40 million credit card numbers a couple of years ago.

Is it sad or weird that I think I know which website you belong to and which online store you are talking about? I think it is a site that all the members just RAVe about :thinking:. Sorry to seem like a stalker, it just struck me when I was reading your post!

 

[Bootsctr]

Woo&#8217;s husband told CNN affiliate KTVT their family wasn&#8217;t having any problems that would have prompted his wife to leave home...

Police have not released any additional information on the case. The cause of Woo&#8217;s death remains under investigation.

http://www.hlntv.com/shows/nancy-gr...4/christine-thi-woo-found-dead-children-alive

Nothing new, but it is on the NG HLN website. I wonder if this means NG picked up the story?

 

[SCHMAE]

I can't entirely agree with this. The impression that I get is that Mr. Woo is very committed to his work, perhaps too much so. I feel like he may have been so focused on his job that he failed to be an involved and attentive partner to his wife and missed warning signs of her mental wellbeing. Even after Christine and the kids went missing....maybe he didn't know what to do except work.

My own husband went straight to work after our son was born prematurely and was fighting for his life. I was furious with him at the time! I realize now though that he was in shock, trying to do "normal" things to cope and avoid the seriousness of reality.

Not excusing Mr. Woo. He should have been there. I bet he either knows that now, or will soon.

My mother has suffered mental illness all my life. When 3 of us were teens, she had her first big bout and it lasted close to 2 yrs. She begged my dad to stay home daily and not leave her to go to work. The daily activities of shuttling kids to and from school and keeping a house were too overwhelming for her. If he had , he would lose his job and then our problems would have been amplified and he told her this. He could not ' help ' her by staying home. He was not a doctor or a therapist and she was reluctant to go and get help. He said the best thing he could do is keep a roof over our heads and food on the table and it's a good thing he kept his medical insurance through work because she ended up in an extended stay in a hospital. When I was young I wondered why he did not stay home but now I see it would have been fruitless and irresponsible. I'm not assuming that the situation is exactly the same here but staying home from work when you have no idea how to help the person you're staying home to help accomplishes nothing. My 2 cents.

ETA The way things were at home, my dad was probably happy to get to work and have a good distraction for many hours of the day. It was not an easy life during that time.

 

[borndem]

IDK, of course, but I do think that she left her cellphone at home deliberately. It sounds like her DH was accustomed to being able to reach her via her cellphone, and she didn't want to be reached. (Otherwise, I think she would've returned home to retrieve the phone.) To me, that leads to thinking she had a plan. Of course, I don't know. I hope the autopsy will answer questions and bring closure for her loved ones.

JMOpinion at the moment.

bbm

Hmmm, I hadn't thought about that angle about the phone -- IMO, not necessarily because she was planning a suicide and prolicide *, but maybe because she felt like she couldn't handle a call from him that day -- maybe she had had it with him & was afraid of what she would say to him. Maybe they had argued that morning and she was just plain angry. Or maybe she was so eager to just get out of the house, she just forgot that her phone was not in her purse (assuming that's where she kept it).

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* I learned this word today -- it's the killing of one's own children, so I thought I would share since we WS'ers are above average folks, ya know. Ugh, I don't like the way it sounds. It makes me <shiver>.
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[borndem]

How traumatizing for those children. I can't even imagine.

I find it odd that he went to work as usual next morning (although left later after telling his boss his wife was missing IIRC). If I was worried about my wife and thought 24 hours had to pass before contacting police, I would not be showing up for work...I'd be looking, making phone calls to friends and family, enlisting help to search, etc. This casts some suspicion on her husband IMO. Unless she "disappeared" before like this with the kids because they'd had an argument or something.

bbm

I was just going to post this same thought -- maybe they had a bad argument that morning and she had done that type thing before -- staying with a family member or a good friend. Three children of those young ages would certainly be a delight, but also a lot of work, every day, every day, every day, and maybe he wasn't giving her much help at home because he took a lot of work home with him.