Texas mother hangs herself, 3 children

By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer 39 minutes ago

HUDSON OAKS, Texas - A young mother who may have been depressed apparently hanged three of her small daughters and herself in a closet using pieces of clothing and sashes, authorities said Tuesday.
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A fourth child, an 8-month-old daughter, was also found dangling in the closet but was rescued.

"It's horrendous. That's all I can say," Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said. Authorities did not immediately identify the dead children, ages 5, 3 and 2.

After the 23-year-old woman failed to show up for work, her sister, who lived nearby, forced her way into the locked residence in the Oak Hills mobile home park, about 25 miles west of Fort Worth in this rural community of 1,600 people.

The sheriff said the sister rescued the infant when she realized the baby girl was still alive. The infant was listed in good condition Tuesday at a Fort Worth hospital, Fowler said.

The sheriff said the hangings appeared to be murder-suicide because the trailer's doors were locked from the inside and a relative said the woman had been depressed.

The young mother and her girls were last seen alive Monday evening, he said. She was believed to be separated from her husband.

"I just got a big kick out of watching the kids play over there on her porch, and today it's sad, very sad," said neighbor Joyce Harris.

Texas has seen a number of child killings by mothers in recent years.

Less than five years earlier, another Hudson Oaks family was torn apart when Dee Etta Perez, 39, shot her three children, ages 4, 9 and 10, before killing herself.

Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the family's Houston bathtub in 2001. In 2003, Deanna Laney beat her two young sons to death with stones in East Texas, and Lisa Ann Diaz drowned her daughters in a Plano bathtub. Dena Schlosser fatally severed her 10-month-old daughter's arms with a kitchen knife in 2004.

All four of those women were found innocent by reason of insanity. Yates initially was convicted of capital murder, but that verdict was overturned on appeal.

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Associated Press writer Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.

wtf?

She must have been a democrat because conservatives are never this imperfect.

what is up with this pattern of young mothers having more children than they can handle and killing them? i mean just get your fuckin' tubes tied for goodness sakes, don't kill the babies!!!! Or just give them away for adoption, anything but murder.....what the fuck is up with this??

what demon is floating around this place?

lawd...

I'm starting to really believe that everybody should not have children. To say that some people are ill-equipped is an understatement. Once apon a ime people simply crossed the line into dysfunctional behaviour over time with rearing kids, which sucked enough as it is---you mean to tell me that now we're just outright KILLING the babies because we can't cope? What on earth....?

I heard about this on the news. I wonder if she had postpartum depression. She clearly wasn't well to do something like this. I feel sorry for that 8 month year old. I'm sure she's gonna need years of counseling later on to come to terms what happened.

Ottensen said:

Yes, I completely agree. Many people should never have children. I also agree with Missfee's comments too. Stop having babies that you can't handle or afford.

Empress said:

yes for real some women just need to tell their husband's "no not tonight" or if they are nyphmos, then just get your damn tubes tied. there just isn't any excuse for this destructive behavior.

I mean if you need a break from your kids then let them stay with the grandparents for a while or some other relatives while you get yourself together, but don't kill them.
[Edited 5/29/07 17:55pm]

That is horrible. I heard about this earlier and it really broke my heart. This is why I feel that healthcare should be available and affordable just as a gun is. That way people who may have a mental disorder or some kind of postpartum distress can get the help that they need. Or at least be able to see a professional and talk out their issues. But even aside from that, she should have sent the kids somewhere safe like with her sister or if she really could not cope, for adoption. Maybe she had some deep issues, but I really cannot see how anyone could take the lives of their children and then themselves...

the baby.

LadyLuvSexxy said:

Clearly, nobody in their right mind would do that, which brings us back to your dead-on comment about lack of access to health care (including mental health care) being the issue here. That and the stigma associated with mental illness.

HereToRockYourWorld said:

4 the children