Karen McCarron's Crime: Murder in the Name of "Fixing" Autism
Rather than reiterate the entire tale on this blog, I refer you to Kristina Chew's extensive coverage on the AutismVox blog. Kristina has covered this trial day by day - and includes graphic testimony from various individuals including Katie's grandmother.
Clearly, this is the tragic story of a disabled child and her very disturbed mother. While McCarron is now considered fit to stand trial, her lawyers are pleading temporary insanity - and it's hard to imagine that a sane person could commit the crime she did. It's especially hard to imagine since, as McCarron's mother in law testified, grandparents were standing by to care for the child if needed.
What is particularly distressing to me about this story is that McCarron attributes her actions to feelings of guilt based on her certainty that vaccines caused Katie's autism. From McCarron's point of view, agreeing to immunize her daughter amounted to complicity in deliberate poisoning.
While no reader will feel sympathy with McCarron's actions, I'm curious as to whether some are in sympathy with her feelings of guilt. Given that immunizations are not only recommended by the medical establishment but also, in most cases, required by law - and given that growing evidence points away from vaccinations as a likely cause of autism - is there any good reason to feel guilty for allowing one's child to be vaccinated?
Comments
Gosh, I second guess so many things I’ve done. What I ate/drank during pregnancy. My advanced maternal age. Vaccines. The left-brain dominance of so many in our family. You name it …
Those questions don’t overtake my life though. This case is still so mindblowing for me. Even though we work every day to help Jack improve, and also hope for a cure for autism, I can’t imagine loving him more than I do right now, just as he is.
This woman must have been either deeply sick or deeply evil… I’m not sure which. I’m not sure what justice is, but I hope that it is served.
You bet I felt guilty having him vaccinated, fearful and anxious, too. There was always the pertussis controversy to deal with, on top of his misery and broiling 103+ fevers with each one, sometimes sleeping for 36 hours straight.
I can tell you I didn’t sleep at all the first night after each vaccine and only for a few hours off and on during the period of his recovery from same, for all the reasons I’ve mentioned.
The first few times I called the pediatrician in tears myself, exhausted, asking what to do; do I wake him and force fluids? Bring him to the hospital? What???
The guilt over having to deliver my comparatively healthy child to be held down, jabbed with sometimes two needles at a time, my knowing the deeply disturbing weeks of aftermath was overwhelming.
If I had known of a controversy back in 1982 linking vaccines to even further catastrophic possibility I might have opted to birth my child at home and never register him anywhere.
Mandates don’t make every vaccination mandated the right course of medical prevention/intervention for every child. Dosages aren’t even weight adjusted. Who is to say that the slightly built 8 pound infant is served just as well by a standard dosage as a strapping 14 pound infant? One size does NOT fit all.
I think that medicine in the US is an industry and our children just cogs in the wheel of haphazard practitioners doing what their told directly by law, when not outright guessing on their own what’s right or wrong. That’s why the offices of medicine are called “practices.” I’d prefer my child not be practiced upon. As parents we have a responsibility to our children and, unfortunately, it’s a job we all learn as we go.
Guilt is a sorry part of that learning on-the-fly, vaccinations have been a major straw on my camel’s back, regardless of how the whole Autism/vaccination controversy finally ends.
It’s an extremely unwell minded person who desires to deliver their child from apparent good health to induced short-term major illness. All the more reason why Karen McCarron’s crime is so disturbing.
In my opinion McCarron’s actions weren’t out of love nor guilt, but of her own self-pity and depression. I wonder if she feels less guilty now, how she can possibly live with herself and her actions and how many other people will blame vaccinations or any other scapegoat for their children and their situation when their time would be better spent stridently working with early interventions.
I think McCarron was overwhelmed regardless of her support system(s) and acted out of ignorant desperation to free herself. Of what though…because I can’t fathom that guilt could make anyone other than an ill-advised child or severely mentally unstable person think that murder could make whatever was undesirable in another person, which they’d believed they’d caused in any degree, clear their conscience and go away.
Karen’s blaming herself is a cynical attempt to make a jury pity her a little bit.
Her support systems were not ready to take over - they were ALREADY doing her job. Prior to Katie’s murder, Karen had only been with Katie for three weeks. For the MONTHS prior to that Katie had been raised by Paul McCarron and Paul’s mother, Gale.
This is a lazy, petulant woman who saw her ‘imperfect’ daughter and threw her away like an unwanted toy.
I’m not a parent yet (a couple more months!), so I don’t have direct experience with the question. However, I think that it is clear that this woman certainly had some mental problems. I imagine that anyone who would harm any child in this way would have to. That said, her feelings of guilt as a reason to hurt her child are, in my opinion, not valid because of her mental state. I don’t think that parents should feel guilty about giving their child shots, since they are recommended by doctors, and, at this point, the majority of evidence seems to point away from them as a cause of Autism.
Again, I don’t believe that their can be any real reasoning attached to this woman’s lines of thinking, but I found it very sad to read (on the AutismVox blog) that she “was a perfectionist who would not accept the fact her daughter wasn’t ‘indistinguishable’ from her peers” and that “negativity and hatefulness were ceaseless when she discussed the child, who they say she never hugged, kissed or praised after she was diagnosed with autism.”
It seems that many of us on the spectrum struggle with acceptance for who we are. I’m very supportive of programs that help us learn functional and communication skills (in a respectful way), but I’m wary of programs that have a goal of making us “indistinguishable from our peers.” I think that it was harder for my parents that I was different when I was younger. But, I think that they were very glad when I was in high school that I was different than my peers, who spent their time out drinking, smoking, and whatever else teenagers do, while I happily stayed at home studying, reading, working on needlepoint, etc.
It does seem like the mother in this case had a good support system in place, but if a person has that type of mental illness, I’m not sure what can be done outside of getting her professional help and not allowing her to be alone with the children. This is just a tragic case no matter how you look at it.
http://aspiemama.blogspot.com/
We live in times where we are encouraged to accept nothing less than perfection, and times where we are told that we can have it all.
Look no further than Autism Speaks who wants to rid the world of autism. They are selling autism as something that has to be avoided like the bubonic plague and must be stamped out. How is this going to impact on the lives of parents yet to have an autistic child? And yet look at the numbers of parents who have autistic children who so willingly follow this group. Are they not publicly denouncing their own children?
We are ‘ALL’ different and meant to be so. Why can we not accept diversity as a good thing? This case is very sad and I think the vaccine issue is a stab in the dark for sympathy.
I have autism. It was hard growing up facing the constant battle of being viewed as dfective and harder still as an adult to see it sometimes viewed as an excuse for murder or even just something a parent could feel guilty about. The bulk of science suggests it is genetic so unless parents also feel guilty about their kids brown eyes it makes little sense to me.
She killed her child and I hope she gets a similar sentence as if she had killed any child. To treat it as less serious because the child has autism is a huge slap in the fact to millions of people out there with it and the people who love them.
Personally I think, she didnt want the responsibility of caring for her child, so she took what she thought was an easy way out. She thought she could plead insane and that she wouldnt go to prison. Well I hope she does. I hope she’s found guilty of Murder because that’s exactly what she did. Her child is no longer here because she was selfish. As a parent, I know that there is NOTHING that will come between caring for my child. You’re last. And you accept that, because you would rather your child come first. They eat even if you don’t. They have new clothes when you cant afford any for yourself. That’s the job of a parent. When your child is ill, you dont sleep (unless you know they’re resting comfortably)I do not feel sorry for her. I do not believe she was overwhelmed with stress. She’s selfish. May her beautiful daughter rest in peace.
Today I had my severe/moderate autism diagnosed daughter’s six birthday. She certainly was distinguishable from her peers as she pinched other children, ran around in circles and took other’s cake, but she is wonderful and precious, loving and smart and I wouldn’t trade her for all the typically developed kids in the world!
For the folks who are feeling guilty about vaccines causing autism…please do not, they do not cause autism. Scientists have repeatedly proven this time and time again.
As for the woman mentioned in this article, it is clear that she was a disturbed individual.
It is worth mentioning though, that there are many parents and people who do feel the need or desire to erradicate autism from the earth. One of the aforementioned poster mentioned Autism Speaks. That organization wants to develop a genetic test for autism so that babies testing positive for the disorder can be aborted in the womb. Yes, abortion is illegal, but the ends seem the same, and a bit more sinister because it is being put to the public in a more palatable way. Abort, and that’s acceptable, because abortion is legal.
Murder your born kid? No.
For those folks who HAVE autism and have self-esteem and self-worth, it seems like eugenics either way, and THAT is the message that people ought to be spreading.
I am rather shocked at the tone of this Lisa.
You sound like you feel SORRY for her. She killed a HAPPY, LOVING THREE YEAR OLD. ON MOTHER’S DAY. For the crime of NOT BEING NORMAL.
For SHAME.
Some of her grandfather’s words can be found on Kev’s blog if you look, and I have some on Katie’s memorial page: http://www.rettdevil.org/katiemccarron.html
Katie was a beautiful child with a beautiful soul and deserved to live.
Kassiane - certainly didn’t intend to support McCarron!! Sorry if I gave that impression. The post was meant more to raise the question of how people feel about McCarron’s defense (that she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt as a result of having allowed her child to be vaccinated).
From the responses I’ve received so far, quite a few people understand the sense of guilt, but of course NO ONE can connect with McCarron’s resonse.
Now that I know more about the story, I’m even more baffled: I hadn’t realized that McCarron wasn’t even LIVING with her daughter.
Lisa (Autism Guide)
Lisa, your article’s tone was NOTHING in the way that Kassiane took it. I don’t think anybody else thought you were siding or sympathizing with Katherine McCarron. That said… to answer your question… do I as a parent feel guilt over vaccinating my child, when I consider vaccines as the culprit for triggering my daughter’s autism?
No. I simply didn’t know better and thought I was being a responsible parent by doing everything I could for the health of my child. What I feel, instead, is anger at the federal government and the pharmaceutical industry for such gross negligence in safety oversight… and for their cover-up of the truth.
I’ve been successful in treating my daughter and reducing the severity of her autism to where she’s able to make some gains and FINALLY has some relief from the horrible MMR-induced bowel disease… and this has been a saving grace. I’d have had a nervous breakdown if we never did biomedical to help our daughter. If she were still screaming all day and night (constantly) like she used to… I’d have had a heart attack by now.
I have been following this since I first read it. As to the guilt towards vaccines, I look at it differently. Since I cant be sure the cause of autism for my child, I had to make peace with it and that nothing I did knowingly caused autism for him. We all must make peace with autism. A child who was never vaccinated can still have autism, and then also contract some nasty polio. How would that have made different the outcome for this mother?
It really isn’t a vaccine issue, it’s a murder issue. And I also read what the grandparent said- it’s not an autism issue, it’s murder.
I have slight sympathy for this mother only to the fact she chose to keep these things all to herself and not reach out for help. But again, most with murder tendencies keep their thoughts to themselves.
I have much more sympathy for the child she snuffed out, not giving that child a chance to have intervention have it’s impact. My child for over a full year of intense private therapy and school early intervention showed not one lick of improvement. At 1 and a half years of a very busy life, things started to change- all kids progress differently. My friends child whose a year older than mine, started improving a year later than mine. All children with autism will progress, regardless of what the cause is. They just don’t happen to jump to it at the snap of our fingers.
This is a completely sad story, a whole family involved with this child and to have this outcome is completely a tragedy. I am sure the mother is feeling all sorts of guilt, but it’s a little too late.
I am not very familiar with this case but the more I read about it the more shocked I become. I have a diagnosed 6 year old and awaiting diagnosis 15 year old, both boys. Yes they frustrate me and yes I have put myself on so many guilt trips of what if this and what if that. But only an incredibly selfish person could think that murder covered with a guilt bandaid would garner any sympathy from anyone. Anyone who sympathizes with this woman is a evil as she is.
She did reach out for help. To ANSWERS, her local support group. They defended her in the news paper. Charming, huh?
Oh yeah, and they all have 40h/week services. I used to live there. Worked with their secretary’s son till they sent him away to school.
I have 2 children on the spectrum (10yrold aspie-daughter & 7yrold non-verbal son). I “followed the rules” and they both had all their vaccinations according to schedule. I do NOT feel guilty about following the rules. I didn’t know any better. I am not searching for a “cure”. We take one day at a time and do as much as we can with what we have to work with.
The one thing I keep saying in conversations with friends and family is that NO ONE knows ANYthing for sure about autism yet. There is obviously a genetic factor that must have some environmental trigger. (Fields of Research don’t get much broader than that.)
As far as I am concerned, the studies that have been done to “disprove” the thimersol link to autism have all been done “in house” by the medical profession/drug industry that is desperately trying to protect itself.
If the person who made the example about a child who has never had a vaccination who could still be diagnosed with autism could say where there have been cases like that, I would like to read more about it. There are more ways than just vaccinations for children to be exposed to mercury. And mercury isn’t even the only trigger to consider.(…even as ingredients in vaccines are concerned.)
I have absolutley no sympathy in my heart for a person like Katherine McCarron. It sounds like she had a support system. It sounds like she had the means to learn better “coping skills” through family, friends or therapy. There IS Life After Diagnosis! How dare she take her own personal issues out on her beautiful child! She and her lawyers are playing the “vaccination-guilt card”.
I know many parents whose children were not vaccinated and have autism. Those parents however mainly choose to stay out of the lime light and I cant blame them due to all the controversy surrounding cause. I have witnessed my self, no one wants to listen to them and attempt to convince them of cause.
Yes, mercury in other forms is in the environment and in many household items. so is lead. Unless a parent intentionally spoon fed poison to their child that then resulted in cause, there in my mind should be no guilt. We do the best we can with the information available. No one can say what caused that little girl to have autism, for sure. But we can for sure say what killed her.
I myself in this case of this mother, feel it wouldn’t had matter what the disability was. it could had been any disorder, it just happened to be autism and here we al are wondering how that could happen. The mother needed proper help.
Do I feel guilty about allowing the pediatrician to give my son 2 antibiotic shots for ear infections, a flu shot (cuz he was a preemie) AND his MMR all on the same day? Darn right I do.
Do I know how silly that is? Darn right I do.
My son is my third child. My daughters both made it thru all their shots with no problems. How was I to know? You put your trust in the doctor who is supposed to know and they’re telling you its best for your child. Thats ALL any of us ever want to do, whats best for our kids. Trying to protect him, most likely hindered him, but would that lead me to wipe him from the face of our Earth???? LORD NO!
How in the world would that ease one’s guilt?!?!?!
This woman was selfish and obviously has other issues. She’s playing the pity card and I find it disgusting and insulting that she would use Autism to get away with murder.
My now 29 yr. old son is healthy. I was encouraged to give him immunizations. At one point, the nurse walked in and had more than one syringe, and oral dose on a try. I refused part. She felt she was saving me another trip. I never returned, and was encouraged many times to complete his immunizations, even though he was very ill afterwards. If encountered presssure from well meaning Doctors, and also, had to lie, and say my Religious beliefs kept me from giving him his 100% of immunizations. This, I had to do, to enroll him in his first year of school. His life was touch and go for at least 12, and then he began to rally and is now a fine healthy young man. We have lived a life that has brought us a lot of awareness toward diet, and well-being.
I work in the field of Alzheimer’s, having been trained at a Facility. Anything that cases a Neurological Glitch should be History. Maybe we could just go live in the Forest, and be one with the Universe. Yes, McCall could have left her child with her Grandparents, but would her life have more quality. No..I don’t believe so. I could take one of my Alzheimer’s Patients to another setting, but the Synapses are still out to lunch.
My mistake Karen McCarron on your name. Be well all. Breathe in the Universe.
Um, Marilyn, DID YOU READ?
Katie’s grandparents adored her. Her FATHER adored her.
Karen SUFFOCATED her. How the hell is that adding quality to her life? By ENDING it?
Don’t go near my grandmother.
I take care of a special needs child,i could never imagine not loving him just because he is different….I hope Katies mom goes where all baby killers go,and thats not Heaven
actually, for 20 months the 3 year old Katie hardly spent any time with her mother since the dad and his mom had her in another state for intense treatment. the ones who would have a good description of this little girl would had been her dad and grandparents, not her own mother. just about 2 or 3 weeks back home, the little girl is dead.
Katie started showing signs at age 2. add that to 20 months- or subtract 20 months from her young age at death and calculate the time Karen spent being the care giver.
the father and grandparents were already the primary caregivers. Karen knew not a thing about quality of life.
There is a growing body of evidence showing that vaccinations do NOT cause autism. And anybody who is old enough to remember the age of childhood diseases and polio should know that it is not only irresponsible to your own child not to vaccinate but also to other people’s children and to society.
Perhaps the same rare genetic instability that may be responsible for some autism also produced the mental instability that caused this mother to kill her child.
No studies have ever provided evidence that vaccines cause autism. So, no, I feel no guilt about allowing my son to be vaccinated. He’s autistic for reasons way above my control.
And I don’t buy the version that Karen’s main source of distress was her guilt. She just didn’t want autism in her life, and has said exactly that in testimonies. She did not want to deal with a special needs child for selfish reasons. It would have been better if she’d just walked away from the marriage and left Katie for her father to raise.
Real mothers feel guilty when they can’t protect their children. They keep trying to do their best to keep their kids away from suffering. Which is the opposite of premeditating and executing murder of an innocent, defenseless little kid. Is she feeling guilty NOW? I hope so, but I’m not sure. At least justice has been served, she was found guilty on all accounts.
The reason Erik N is on here trying to play the vaccine card is that the anti-vaccine group he belongs to were going to recruit Karen McCarron. He described her as ‘a loving mother’ on one web forum.
This was not a question of lack of support as Karen hardly interacted with Katie at all. She told her mother in law and her husband that she wanted to institutionalsie Katie and failing that put her up for adoption.This wasn’t about Katie. It was about her failings as a mother and human being. She sued to refer to Katie as ‘that kid’ apparently.
Vaccines are causing autism!! Check out the Hannah Poling Case. It’s about time the Government admitted it. These children and their parents need help now!! There is no support system. No organization helps you. You are on your own with autism.
I know of several families with an autistic relative, and we cannot blame modern vaccines, etc. for this because these people are in their 50s or older.
p.s. I have heard that preemies have a significantly higher rate of autism than the general population. This might account for the “increase”, if it does exist and is not just because people are being properly diagnosed. And Hannah Poling was discovered to have a metabolic disorder which might have precipitated her vaccine reaction and actually merits further research (IMHO).
i understand what she did her daughter was broken she would go through life a screw up