A woman from Minnesota is arrested after authorities say she intentionally killed her disabled daughter and she waited hours to contact the police.
Intentional murder
According to Star Tribune, the 35-year-old Elise C. Nelson is charged with second-degree intentional murder and second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of her 13-year-old disabled daughter, Kylie Larson.
The court documents state that Kylie was significantly impaired, and she wore a pulse oximeter, which is a finger clip device that monitored her oxygen levels and her pulse rate. If her oxygen levels or pulse dropped too low, a warning alarm sounded off.
The 13-year old's severe developmental delays were a result of experiencing oxygen loss during childbirth. She required 24-hour care and was unable to walk on her own or take care of herself.
On June 30, while Nelson's husband was out on a fishing trip and their other children were not at home, Nelson allegedly silenced Kylie's pulse oximeter warning alarm twice.
Throughout the weekend, according to court documents, Nelson continued to silence the warning alarm, then eventually turned the device off.
A criminal complaint read that with the machine off, nothing monitored the oxygen saturation levels or pulse rates of Kylie. CBS Minnesota reports that Kylie's last pulse was detected at 6:43 a.m on June 22. Nelson then allegedly waited six hours to call 911.
When the first responders arrived, they found the child unresponsive on the living room floor, with pools of blood building up on the back of her legs. They said she had been dead for quite some time before they arrived.
Stearns County Sheriff's Office investigators sent the machine's information to Medtronic, a medical device company that created the pulse oximeter. The company said the oximeter was working correctly.
The Midwestern Medical Examiner's Office ruled the child's manner of death as a homicide, caused by Nelson deliberately depriving care. She was subsequently arrested. Nelson appeared in court on September 23, where her bail was set at $350,000.
Similar case
In 2014, a depressed mother was overwhelmed by the challenge of looking after her three disabled children, she smothered them in their sleep, and she attempted suicide, according to The Guardian.
The mother, Tania Clarence, admitted the manslaughter by diminished responsibility of Olivia, 4-years-old, and the three-year-old twins Ben and Max at their home in New Malden, south-west London.
The three children suffered from muscle-weakening condition multiple system atrophy type 2. All three were found dead in their beds.
Days before the murder, Clarence's husband had taken their 8-year-old daughter, who is not disabled, on a holiday to South Africa, leaving Clarence alone with their other children. She had given the nanny a day off.
According to a psychiatrist, Clarence was suffering from severe depression, and the mother of four had become overwhelmed by the challenge of coping with her children and witnessing medical interventions and procedures she thought unnecessary.
Clarence will not be released until she's fully recovered. Her husband, Gary, an investment banker, supported his wife throughout the whole tragic incident.
