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Mother walks free from court after killing autistic son

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Well-Known Member
A mother who strangled her autistic son because she could no longer cope with looking after him has walked free from court.

Yvonne Freaney, 50, admitted she killed her son Glen, 11, with a coat belt in an airport hotel room. Freaney told police she killed Glen so "no one could point fingers at him" when he was in heaven. Mother-of-four Freaney also tried to kill herself but botched her attempts to slash her wrists - and was found alive by ambulance crews. She was cleared of murder but admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility. Judge Mr Justice Wyn Williams allowed her to walk free with a supervision order.

He said it was "the most difficult sentencing" he had ever had in his career. Mr Justice Wyn Williams told her: "You have already been punished enough. "The only sensible and credible explanation is that your state of mind was truly abnormal.
"At the end you genuinely but irrationally believed that no-one but you could care for Glen and, since you were intent on killing himself, you had to kill him first. "Not withstanding the fact that your crime was to kill a child, your culpability was very low. "There could be no doubts you were completely devoted to Glen throughout his short life and showered him with love and affection. "You cared for him with the best of your ability, day in and day out. He was very demanding but you never let that deflect from putting his best interests above those of your own."

John Charles Rees, defending, said: "She was undoubtably a loving mother to all her children and killed Glen out of love not malice. "There was never any dispute as to the facts of this case. The issue was a medical one. She was suffering from a personality disorder. "This is a wholly exceptional case we've heard, for reasons quite a distressing and haunting. "She went through experiences that no one should ever have to go through. "She needs to be reintroduced into the community and back into her family, that can't happen over night but can happen in a supervised and controled way.

Freaney was discovered in the Sky Plaza hotel room near Cardiff Airport with multiple knife wounds after a botched suicide attempt. As she was being arrested, Freaney said: "He was laughing when I was strangling him. That is when I knew he was happy. "I had to do it because now no-one can point fingers at him. He is in heaven now. "I killed him. I was frightened about who would look after him." The court heard "loving and devoted" Freaney was facing a lifetime of one-to-one caring for Glen after the breakdown of her abusive marriage. The jury heard how Glen could walk, run and ride a bike and communicated through a computer by tapping on symbols on the screen. But he was not toilet trained and still wore nappies.

Prosecutor Greg Taylor QC said: "Glen was a young boy who suffered from severe autism - he was diagnosed when he was aged four. "He was generally fit and well and had a normal life expectancy but he was totally dependent on adult care. "He needed help, dressing, washing, brushing his teeth and feeding." Mr Taylor told the court Freaney and her husband Mark had a marriage "filled with problems" and she moved out of the family home about a month before Glen's death. The jury was told how 17-stone former RAF serviceman Mark attacked his wife on numerous occasions at their home in Barry, South Wales. Police were called several times to the family home after alleged domestic violence. Freaney was examined by doctors for injuries but never pressed charges against her husband. The court heard Mr Freaney had told social services: "I'm a wife beater and proud of it. She deserves it."

Freaney must be supervised by the probation service, attend mental health meetings, live in approved accommodation and not have contact with children under 18 without supervision. Following the trial Freaney's husband Mark called Glen's death "a tragedy". He said: "The outcome of the trial, whatever the verdict reached will not bring Glen back to us. "The tragedy of his death still causes us great pain. He was a wonderful friendly boy and very much loved by us all and we miss him deeply." Her daughter Carla said: "I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped and supported us through this very hard time. "The conclusion of the trial will help give closure for us all and allow us to move on. I love my mother and will remain supportive of her." Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jones said: "Any investigation into the death of a child is distressing for everyone involved. "This was a very difficult case but it was only correct that the facts were presented at court. We note the decision of the court today and extend our sympathies to the family."

Original Article: [link]

Comments? Reaction?
 
I understand she was mentally unstable and traumatized but cut the crap about killing her son out of love! Why people can't just look at at as is - she's got some mental issues and couldn't deal with all the challenges, that's why she killed him, period. There's nothing more to it. I don't believe that mothers kill their children out of love, especially not under those circumstances.
 
Same story; different day. It's depressing and unfortunate, but what can you do to prevent evil things like this from happening?

Anyway, my opinion is that this woman killing her son wasn't justifiable at all and I feel that she got off very lightly for doing such a horrendous thing. It doesn't matter if she took good care of her son while he was alive; to kill someone, especially in the manner she chose to kill her son, was disgusting. If she really wanted to she could've killed him in a more civilized manner (not that she should have killed him at all, but IMO to be strangled like that would be an awful way to die).

I can't help but find it ironic how she claimed to kill him so that "no one could point fingers at him when he was in heaven" when she, by killing him, committed the most severe sins there is. If she was a good Christian she wouldn't have resorted to murder.

One thing from that article that is unrelated to the killing is how the woman's husband shamelessly said "I'm a wife beater and proud of it. She deserves it" which I can't help but say "WTF?" to . . .
 
Say what you want about love and reasoning, but there is no excuse for this sort of thing. Obviously it wasn't out of love if she felt she had to punish herself for it afterwards. To me this sounds like excuse making and trying to justify whatever sociopathic logic she had at the time. By the way, strangling someone is a different ball game than, say, shooting someone on impulse. You have to be a really sick person (to put it lightly) to be able to give someone a slow, painful, and difficult death like that. Especially your own child.

Killing your own child, when there are plenty of other resources who would happily help or take care of a special needs kid, has no excuse to it- mental state or otherwise. It's a shame no one caught her mental state before she took it this far.

Unfortunately this happens all too much, which is sad by itself. But it's the excuses and justifications, regardlss of what they are, that really get to me.
 
I suppose on one hand I am shocked and disgusted... but then on the other I can't really be surprised. There seems to be no real justice in this country. Sentences are to lenient and people can get away with anything.

Rather than have him killed, he could have been put up for adoption or specialist care. That would have been a better outcome for everyone.

Alias said:
I can't help but find it ironic how she claimed to kill him so that "no one could point fingers at him when he was in heaven" when she, by killing him, committed the most severe sins there is. If she was a good Christian she wouldn't have resorted to murder.

One thing from that article that is unrelated to the killing is how the woman's husband shamelessly said "I'm a wife beater and proud of it. She deserves it" which I can't help but say "WTF?" to . . .

I agree on both points.
 
Somewhat related topic, if you've seen the recent Casey Anthony verdict.
Yeah, justice!
 
One should attempt to do his best to overcome challenges, even including raising an autistic child as he is.
 

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