Mother who murdered teenaged kids taken to hospital

[samanthajane13]

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) – A Tampa woman who admitted murdering her two teenage children was taken to a local hospital on Saturday for evaluation, police said.

Tampa police said Julia Schenecker, 50, admitted to killing her 16-year old daughter Calyx and 13-year old son Beau on Thursday night. Police found the bodies of the two children at their home on Friday. Both had been shot.

Police had gone to the home after getting a call from Schenecker's mother in Texas saying she was concerned about her daughter and grandchildren.

"The suspect (Julia Schenecker) confessed to killing her two children. She described the crimes in detail," Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said in a statement.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110129/..._tampa_murders

[samanthajane13]

Mom Charged in Kids' Murders Treated at Hospital
Authorities Say Julie Power Schenecker Was Taken to Tampa General Hospital to Be Treated for Medical Condition

(AP) TAMPA, Florida - The army officer's wife who authorities say killed her teenage daughter and son because she was fed up with them talking back and being mouthy did not appear in court Saturday because she's being treated at a hospital for an unknown condition.

Authorities say Julie Powers Schenecker was taken to Tampa General Hospital early Saturday, shortly after midnight, to be treated for a medical condition that existed before she was taken to jail. Hillsborough Sheriff's deputies — who oversee jail inmates, said they could not reveal Schenecker's medical condition, citing health care privacy laws.

An arrest affidavit said Schenecker shot her son twice in the head in the family car "for talking back" as she drove him to soccer practice. The report said Schenecker then drove to their upscale home and shot her daughter in the face inside the home.

Schenecker's mother called police Friday morning, and told them she was concerned after her daughter had sent an e-mail saying she was depressed. Officers found Schenecker drenched in blood on her back porch — and once they saw the teens, the scene was so troubling that a stress team was called to counsel the responding officers, a police spokeswoman said.

Calyx, the girl, was 16 and a cross country running star at her high school. The 13-year-old son, Beau, was in eighth grade.

Investigators believe the teens "never saw it coming," said police spokeswoman Laura McElroy. Both were killed with a .38-caliber pistol. The arrest affidavit said the weapon was purchased five days earlier.

Schenecker's husband, Army Col. Parker Schenecker, is a career military officer attached to U.S. Central Command in Tampa. He was working in the Middle East when the shootings happened.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/...n7297770.shtml

[SaraSidle]

I am not liking the gun a head of time. sounds like planning to me but they really need to do a tox screen and brain scan right off. she looks wicked in her pictures physically. wonder if there was brain damage in the accident.............

[samanthajane13]

Could Mental Health Screenings for Military Families Stopped Schenecker Murders?

Schenecker was arrested and charged on Friday with the killings after she was discovered sitting on her porch. Police responded to the residence after Schenecker's mother called them because she wasn't able to get a hold of the family on Friday morning. Friends of Schenecker say she had expressed some feelings of depression and that she was stressed out lately.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110204/...VsZG1lbnRhbGg-

[samanthajane13]

Man to divorce mom accused of killing their 2 kids

Army Col. Parker Schenecker released a statement saying he met with his wife, Julie, on Friday and told her he was filing for divorce. The statement said their meeting at the jail was "emotional and productive," but it did not detail their discussions.

http://www.buffalonews.com/wire-feed...icle345535.ece

[Scandal Junkie]

It's so hard for me to read stories like this and know what to think. There have been reports that doctors had her on numerous different prescription drugs, etc.

This is where I get stuck ... did she kill her children with a clear mind or was she affected by all of the medications she was on? If it's the latter, is jail the best place for her or is a mental institution the best place?

It's all so horrifying.

[dan_uk]

shes due in court on the 01/18/2012 for a dispostion and the states going for the death penalty

[Amy]

Wonder if the defense is going to try for some kind of mental defense.

[Jadedblueeyes]

Wonder if the defense is going to try for some kind of mental defense.

It would be extremely rare if a defense team didn't go for a mental defense when mothers murder their own. I mean what else do they have? She shot both of them in cold blood. Seems sort of ironic that it is almost always used yet only about 2-4% of mothers who murder their children are truly mentally ill. Maybe that is why the success rate when using this type of defense is rarely believed by a jury.

If the state is seeking the death penalty they must think they can prove she was not mentally ill at the time of the murders. What she did afterward once she had murdered them is really irrelevant since the judicial standards are..did she know right from wrong at the time she murdered them.

There is way too much planning in this case for mental illiness to ever be believed, imo. She calmly and patiently waited five days for the background check to be completed so she could obtain the murder weapon and she went on with her life during that time. Even taking the kids to sports events and school. Talk about lying in wait. This woman sets a new record for plotting and planning.

Imo, she was an extremly controlling overbearing mother. Her children began to voice displeasure on somethings they didn't agree with her on and she wasn't going to stand for it. She was the boss and she was determined to show them it was up to her whether they lived or died. When she said they were 'mouthy' that tells me she was a control freak. She is the type of mother that believed in "I brought you into this world and I damn sure can take you out."

Since she is upper middle class and a white female.... I doubt the death penalty will be rendered but I do believe a jury will give her life which she certainly deserves.

[Amy]

Thanks, Ocean. I remember thinking @ the time the reports were coming out about how they found her shaking, almost catatonic (which, of course, precluded her taking her own life, IIRC, that was part of the plan?) and comments about her mental status. I was thinking then, that might be her reaction to what she did, but that she apparently was calm and collected enough for the planning stages, especially in having to wait for the gun.

[Marian Paroo]

Since she is upper middle class and a white female.... I doubt the death penalty will be rendered but I do believe a jury will give her life which she certainly deserves.

That.

[Jadedblueeyes]

Thanks, Ocean. I remember thinking @ the time the reports were coming out about how they found her shaking, almost catatonic (which, of course, precluded her taking her own life, IIRC, that was part of the plan?) and comments about her mental status. I was thinking then, that might be her reaction to what she did, but that she apparently was calm and collected enough for the planning stages, especially in having to wait for the gun.

Youre more than welcome, Amy!

I am not sure she was planning on taking her own life. I do think I remember reading somewhere that she also drank so if she mixed drugs and alcohol that can be a dangerous combination and can cause adverse affects.

I do remember seeing her at the arraignment and she seemed fine then and just calmly stood there. She wasn't shaking or out of it then.

The way she carried out these two murders are so cold and frightening to even think about.