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Discussion Forums » In The News
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Mom Gets Life Sentence for Murdering Son
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16 Dec 2009, 22:35
minor_catastrophe
Post Count: 123
I remembered reading about this in the forums a while back. Here's an update:

(Dec. 16) -- An Iowa mother was sentenced to life without parole Tuesday for slitting her 2-year-old son's throat and leaving him to die near a remote pond in October 2008, a prosecutor said.

Michelle Kehoe, 36, also received 25 years on one count of attempted murder for slashing her older son's throat. She left both children outside the family van before attempting to kill herself.

The 7-year-old survived and provided key testimony against his mother, whose attorneys argued that she believed she was trying to save her sons from a life of suffering when she cut their throats and her own.

A jury rejected her insanity defense and convicted her of first-degree murder, attempted murder and child endangerment on Nov. 4.

Michelle Kehoe, seen at her trial in November, was sentenced Tuesday to life imprisonment for the murder of her 2-year-old son.
Kehoe also received a 10-year sentence for child endangerment for the injuries she inflicted on her older son, who survived for the night locked inside the family van, Buchanan County Attorney Allan Vander Hart said.

Against the wishes of Kehoe's husband, Judge Bruce Zager also granted an extension of the prosecution's request for a no-contact order, which prohibits Kehoe from contacting her surviving son or anyone with whom he lives.

Kehoe's son lives with her husband, Gene Kehoe, who regularly visited his wife until the order went into effect in April. The judge's decision to continue the no-contact order, which includes written contact, will remain in effect for five years, and extends to father and son.

"When [the victim's] therapist tells us he is ready and it might be beneficial, then that's the time to revisit the no-contact order. He's pretty fragile right now," Vander Hart said.

Prosecutors countered that Kehoe methodically planned to kill her sons and herself, but botched it. The detailed planning showed she was not legally insane, Iowa Attorney General Andrew Prosser said.

Kehoe began planning the attack the previous month, buying the knife and the duct tape, according to testimony. She told her husband she was taking the boys to visit her mother at a nursing home.

Police found a handwritten note that Kehoe admitted to writing to support the story she initially told police.

The note said a man broke into the car when the family stopped at a gas station and forced them to the area where the van was found. In the note, Kehoe said she tried to fight him off with pepper spray, but he knocked her unconscious.

Kehoe's lawyer, Andrea Dryer, asked the court to run the sentences concurrently on account of her extreme mental illness.

The judge sentenced Kehoe consecutively for first-degree murder and attempted murder and concurrently on attempted murder and child endangerment so that the sentences would represent the two boys.

"I asked for consecutive time because there were two victims and because of the extensive planning and premeditation of these crimes," Vander Hart said.

Source:: http://www.sphere.com/crime/article/michelle-kehoe-gets-life-for-murdering-2-year-old-son/19283448?icid=main|main|dl1|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sphere.com%2Fcrime%2Farticle%2Fmichelle-kehoe-gets-life-for-murdering-2-year-old-son%2F19283448

0 likes [|reply]
17 Dec 2009, 19:29
Endless Love
Post Count: 102
I sat here reading this with my newborn laying on my lap, wondering how anyone could hurt their child. no matter what the reason..
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17 Dec 2009, 00:59
Love Bipolar Inc
Post Count: 45
These are desperate times and unfortunately, things like this is going to become very frequent. It's so sad.
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17 Dec 2009, 02:56
Chris
Post Count: 1938
I really don't think the economy and other political garble is going to make women across the world murder their children. I mean, things get serious, but not THAT serious.
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18 Dec 2009, 21:00
Estella
Post Count: 1779
Haha - yes, yo, I would agree here! I'd imagine there was a bit more going on for this woman than simply the economy!
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17 Dec 2009, 02:45
♥Mars.Foxx
Post Count: 64
what do you mean by desperate times as in the economy and stuff??
i feel really bad for her surviving son, having to of watched her kill his little brother and try to kill him, and herself, wow. i cant imagine whats going through his head. and even if she gets the same sentencing i think she must of been insane to do this. who could hold down a 2yr old and cut his throat, it would be harder if it were your own child. was the husband perhaps abusive?? not that that's a free ticket to off yourself and your kids but maybe a reason?? that's really sad.
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18 Dec 2009, 06:10
Beautiful Lies
Post Count: 402
I think the woman was just mentally ill and not rational (obviously) when she made that decision. I highly doubt the husband is abusive since the older child that survived is now living with him.
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17 Dec 2009, 14:00
oh!Boys
Post Count: 26
I really need to top reading these things..
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17 Dec 2009, 21:45
brooke !
Post Count: 100
those poor children.
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18 Dec 2009, 03:05
prettylittlekitty
Post Count: 78
The poor babies. How could anyone hurt their children? Sad.
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18 Dec 2009, 20:59
Estella
Post Count: 1779
What utter rubbish! Why does detailed planning prove that she is not insane? Mental illness does not mean that a killing is necessarily unpremeditated. People can be utterly insane and plan something intricately. Not that she is necessarily mentally ill - but I can't see how they can rule that out simply from the fact that it was premeditated. That is sheer ignorance.
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19 Dec 2009, 20:54
queenbutterfly
Post Count: 425
This is just my belief. I do not wish to start arguing - you can state your opinion but I believe what I believe. Just thought I'd say that because I do not want to start drama...

God ALWAYS makes a way of escape before you sin. This women had a choice, and she clearly made that choice. Whether she was insane or not, she deserved the maximum penalty that she could get.

And I agree. I could NEVER imagine hurting my child. Ever.
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