Jillian McCabe Accused of Throwing Autistic Son Off Oregon Bridge

[KamaAina]

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jillian-mccabe-accused-throwing-autistic-son-oregon-bridge-n240606

An Oregon mother who had a mental breakdown while caring for her autistic son and ailing husband allegedly threw the 6-year-old off a bridge and then called police to tell them, authorities and relatives said Tuesday.

Jillian Meredith McCabe, 34, of Seal Rock, Oregon, was arrested for the murder of her son London, police said. Authorities discovered the boy's body in the waters of Oregon's Yaquina Bay hours after McCabe called 911 late Monday.

"We're all devastated," Andrew McCabe, London's uncle, told NBC News. "London was a good kid. He loved hats. And his Dad."

“She took him for a walk and did what she did,” he added.

[gratuitous]

1. Heard this story on the morning news

Horrifying. What will be even more horrifying will be the reaction.

[Egnever]

2. So tragic all the way around.

Autism is very hard to deal with. I am not trying to excuse what she did but I understand how caring for an autistic child could cause a mental break down.

I wish she had more support in her life to help her cope, for her sake and the childs. Sadly that ship has sailed.

[calimary]

8. It reminds me of that recent story in one of the British papers about a woman who wrote that

she wished she'd been able to abort her son, who has Down's Syndrome. He's 47 now and minimally capable, and she wrote how it had sent her into a breakdown, almost ruined her marriage, and she felt their other son had been cheated because both parents were focused so fully on caring for his brother instead. I'm simplifying it rather crudely here - her message was far more moving and sympathetic. It makes you stop and think. Makes you imagine walking in their shoes for awhile. Shit - what would I do? How would I handle it? How would I cope? How would I keep myself sane - or could I?

What I wish this country could do - since EVERYONE, in one way or other, is interested in good parenting and children's welfare - would be to mandate a license to parent. We have to have a license to drive. We have to have a license to do business. Hell, we have to have at least some documentation to own a gun. Seems to me that there are people out there who are JUST NOT EQUIPPED, emotionally or financially or morally, to deal with the demands of babies and children. Particularly a special-needs child. Not everybody is cut out to be a parent. And parenting is not for everybody! I know people who live very fulfilled and satisfied lives without having had children.

[Brickbat]

3. Heartbreaking. That poor family.

A lot going on there. If she had one less stressor -- better mental health care, not having to worry about health care for her husband -- her son may be alive today.

[Cleita]

4. If she had been in France or any other nation that operates

like aa social democracy, she would have gotten help with the son and the care of her husband. Just saying.

[YarnAddict]

7. Have you heard about Kellie Stapleton?

She attempted (and thankfully failed) to kill both herself and her 14-year old autistic daughter last year. Kellie had suffered years of serious assaults at the hands of her daughter, and on the day she decided to kill both of them, she had run into some frustrating roadblocks in her attempt to get the daughter's school to get on board with a program that had been very successful for her daughter.

I can't imagine being pushed to that point.

On the other hand, I can't imagine being the teacher or social worker who has to deal with something like this:

Watch the whole thing for some insight into what it must be like to be the parent or teacher of a violent child.

[jwirr]

11. I hear you but doesn't it surprise you that this happened in Oregon where services are supposed to

be good? That kind of baffles me.

[Cleita]

13. They are better than much of the nation but still not

as good as they should have been. She would have had on hands help with actual professionals who would have come to her house, like nurses and child care in France.

[jwirr]

14. That is what she needed for sure.

[IVoteDFL]

5. The mental health services in this country has failed another family

It sounds like her extended family was really trying to get them some help and the mother had made several online posts asking for help also. This story is tragic on several levels, most of all that it shows how indifferent humans can be towards other's struggling, and to me that is just devastating. It's one of those things that makes me think humanity is doomed.

[HereSince1628]

9. Seems bigger than just mental health services to me...

After hospitalizations for mental illness any compassionate society wouldn't have left the recovering mentally ill person on their own to deal with overwhelming responsibilities of two other people with high needs.

[jwirr]

12. Wow I did not read the whole article - this really shows us what happened to her. So sorry for her

family and the little boy.

[yodermon]

6. Allow me to pre-empt the inevitable sub-thread: it's possible to stongly advocate for justice in

this case while at the same time recognizing that "society" (politics, mental health services, the health care system, increased indifference to the plight of others) tragically failed this family.
The 2 are not mutually exclusive positions.
To explain is not to excuse.
Carry on.

[jwirr]

10. It is extremely hard to take care of a disabled chid and autism is especially hard. Then add an

ailing husband and I understand her breakdown. The results are tragic to say the least.

I took care of my severely disabled daughter for 45 years. Then my mother got Alzheimer's disease and moved in with me. After two months I could not take it anymore. I called social services who monitored the entrance into the nursing home - they had here placed in the home with in a few hours. They were afraid that I would have a nerves breakdown.

This woman needed help but unfortunately it was not there for her. She took the worst of all the options. It will haunt her the rest of her life.