The attempted murder of her autistic teen daughter was intended to end differently, says Kelli Rai Stapleton. She said it was supposed to be a murder suicide.
A judge sentenced Stapleton to 10-to-22 years in prison after her September 2013 attempt at murder didn’t work.
Stapleton said that she was brought to the decision after years of dealing with her daughter’s violent attacks and failing to find affordable or effective treatment. This is odd, considering her previous role as an outspoken advocate for autism awareness.
Stapleton told the judge that she had intentionally driven her teenage daughter Isabelle to an isolated spot and given her a sleep-inducing drug. She then placed two charcoal-burning grills inside the van on either side. She was clearly hoping to suffocate both herself and her daughter to death.
The attempted murder suicide didn’t work, and both of them survived. However, Kelli’s daughter had suffered brain damage after falling into a four day coma. The autistic teen then experienced a new-found difficulty with balance and memory loss.
Circuit Judge James Batzer has given Kelli Rai Stapleton 10 years before having a chance at parole. The days she has already been in custody, more than a year, were given as credit. In a possible attempt at pity, Stapleton offered to serve 15 years, one for every year she tried to take away from her daughter.
This display of remorse extended to the rest of Stapleton’s family, including her friends and ex-husband, as she apologized repeatedly.
Kelli Rai Stapleton said that the idea came from a period in 2013 when insurance stopped paying for Isabelle’s treatment, and her education plan had changed. She claims she was suffering from “battle fatigue” and the attempted murder of her autistic teen daughter was the solution she settled on.
Psychiatrist Carole Lieberman had confirmed that at the time of the attempt, Stapleton had been suffering from post-traumatic stress and bipolar disorders and was legally declared insane.
Stapleton had pled insanity , claiming her actions were part of a faked suicide attempt and she was mentally ill. The judge rejected the claim.
Stapleton’s defense attorney has gone on record as saying that the sentencing doesn’t help anyone, to which the prosecutor stated that the sentencing was a deterrent. The sentence serves the purpose of ensuring that her attempt to rid herself of the “problem” of raising an autistic daughter would never happen again.
Mich. mom Kelli Rai Stapleton, who tried to kill teen daughter with autism, gets 10-22 years: http://t.co/VozjVl7tVW pic.twitter.com/kZ17vhJy2R
— ABC7News (@ABC7News) October 8, 2014
The sentencing was agreed to by Autistic Self-Advocacy Network president Ari Ne’eman, who decided that the punishment should be the same as that of a fully sane mother with a non-autistic daughter.
What do you think the punishment should be for Stapleton’s attempted murder and suicide?
[Image via Black Rock Galleries ]
