A 29-year-old mother of two, who reportedly tried to kill her son and daughter by lacing their apple juice with crushed tranquilizers, appeared in Cook County court on Thursday to face murder charges.
The suspect, Krystle El Khatib from Schiller Park, is accused of mixing powder from crushed-up anti-anxiety pills into apple juice and forcing her 9-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter to drink it on Sunday.
Prior to trying to kill her children, the mother had reportedly sent a threatening text message to the children’s father, Bill Intzekiotis, after which she tried to kill herself with a similar cocktail consisting of benzodiazepine and the painkiller Norco. Fortunately, the boy awoke the next morning, and although vomiting and disoriented, managed to get in touch with his father.
According to the Chicago Tribune , the threatening text message sent to Intzekiotis read, “At least if I go to hell, I’ve already been there. The kids go to heaven. Peace from all.”
The children have reportedly made a full recovery and are safely in the custody of their father.
El Khatib was taken to hospital by police, who received a statement from her which said that as “she brought her kids into this world and she can take them out.”
The suspect was only married for a short time to Bill Intzekiotis , and was 17 at the time of their marriage. They divorced after less than a year.
Intzekiotis said, “At that time, she liked to ride motorcycles, and she was into cars. She was smart. She was a good person at heart, but she didn’t have a good life. I think she tried too hard to fit in.”
El Khatib reportedly told the police that she gave the anti-anxiety drugs to her children because she “wanted all three of them to go to sleep and not wake up.”
