Mother found pushing DEAD toddler on swing.

I am just not sure how to wrap my mind around this story...

(Reuters) - A Maryland mother was found early on Friday pushing her dead 3-year-old boy on a park swing, authorities said.

Deputies responded to a call around 7 a.m. to check on a woman who witnesses said had been pushing a child for hours on a swing at Wills Memorial Park in La Plata, about 35 miles (55 km) south of Washington, D.C., said Charles County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Diane Richardson.

One witness told deputies she found it strange that the woman had been pushing the child for an unusually long period of time, possibly since the day before, Richardson said.

When the officers arrived they found the 24-year-old woman still pushing the child in the swing, and they realized immediately that the boy was dead, Richardson said.

The child had no signs of obvious trauma, she said, and had been dead for at least several hours.

The office of the chief medical examiner in Baltimore will perform an autopsy on the boy.

The mother, who was not identified, was transported to a nearby hospital for medical tests, police said.

The investigation is still ongoing.

I feel incredibly saddened by this story and it unsettles me. She pushed her dead son in a swing for over 24 hours and then the police were called that something was amiss? No one noticed previously, went up to the mother to converse?

Have we really become so very disconnected as people that we can overlook something like this?


SOURCE

a reply to: Ultralight

This story also strikes me as a heartbreakingly sad. It's even worse to say that I hope to God that this woman was so distraught and heartbroken. That she took her dead child to a place of joy and the child had died peacefully.

Absolutely heartbreaking. I have no words to describe how haunting this is. For some reason this story disturbed me deeply.

a reply to: Ultralight

That's sad. I don't think that she could accept that he was dead.
I'm surprised that nobody got it on video, instead of trying to help. That's the way today's society has become.

a reply to: Ultralight

I had found a deceased elderly woman once in Miami while patrolling a condo complex. I glanced in the kitchen window along the walkway and noticed a woman laying face up, eyes fixed, at the bottom of the stairs.

I knocked on the door, and her obviously confused in shock husband said to come in but be quiet because his wife was "sleeping". He had pulled a mattress down and rolled her on it. He was obviously in shock, and was conversing as though nothing was wrong.

I checked her pulse, found none and she was cold and rigor mortis was setting in, so I called 911. I sat with him waiting at the kitchen table for the police and coroner, and he talked about his family, wife and life history.

It appeared she had had a heart attack at the top of the stairs, fell down them in death, he went into shock, not believing the reality, and pulled the mattress upstairs off the bed, shoved it downstairs, and put her on it to be "more comfortable".

Just as he was, the woman swinging her child deceased, was in shock. All around, its a sad and tragic event for both the elderly man and this woman and child.

The mind can go into shock or denial if you'd rather...when something so traumatic happens, the mind just cant accept it.

MS
EMT/ERT
Advanced Disaster Life Support

So very sad, poor mother not willing to let go. Very sad indeed. The heart is a wonderful thing though.

Sometimes i really hate life and it's obstacles.

Something out of a Stephen King story, seriously, this is one of those scenes that show reality as stranger than fiction, and more horrifying. Truly a haunting image. King's probably kicking himself he didn't think of it.

Death is a hard thing for many people to deal with. It's hard to even begin to describe for a family member.

The first hospital I worked at was large and we dealt with death way more than I do over here. My first direct encounter involved a mother placing her infant into my hands. The body was in an intermediate state of decomposition. The mom just couldn't accept that her baby had died.

If the death was natural, this behavior was ok. She took him to a place and an activity he liked and soothed her mind after the loss. She was probably a caring and good mom. It was about deep Love

Tragic and heartbreaking yes. However, a lot of the comments here I find to be a bit unwarranted. The article never stated that she was pushing him for 24 hours, it said she was 24 years old and they suspected the child had been dead for several hours. The witnesses did find it odd that she had been pushing the kid for a while, but the article said "possibly" since the day before, nor did it mention how many witnesses were there, or if they were unrelated to each other witness (for instance a couple walking in the park vs a completely unrelated individual (or number of individuals) doing their own activities).

The call was made at 7am, so I doubt the park would have been busy. I don't think this would apply to the response that "there is so much social disconnection from person to person, I find it hard to believe no one ever went up to her!".

It was very early in the morning, other than the fact that she had been pushing the child for a while, there was no other suspicious activity listed in the article. It's pretty evident that this isn't a matter of social disconnection of the modern age.

This is just a case of a dissociative, possibly psychotic response to a child's death. Nothing more, but still tragic nonetheless.

now thats a really sad story. the poor womans mind just apparently broke from the shock.

Wow that is really sad...I'm not sure I want to know what happened...

a reply to: Ghost147

...However, a lot of the comments here I find to be a bit unwarranted.

Other than the OP mistakenly getting the timeline wrong, who else made an unwarranted comment..?

Oh yes, that would be you.

Junior High Hall Monitor wasn't good enough, huh?

Upon hearing this, my first thought is - Why do we need to know this?

My God. Is this "news" now?

Some mind-breaking, soul-sucking ultra-personal tragedy that has no bearing on anything beyond those immediately involved or impacted?

Screw the media. God bless this sweet baby.

No offense intended to the OP. But, just damn, these kinds of headlines are crippling us. Psychic warfare....

I go with love and denial, too.


One last walk and swing in the park.

As a society coming to terms with morality is still very hard. Unfortunately and thus why the media interest in picking it. See the reception here. Death effects each and everyone differently but a tragedy knows no bounds. Seems she was unable to cope and was hoping for the baby's return and or fear of being jailed- fear of being found guilty. Very sad, hope some closure is found what ever the story may be.

a reply to: kosmicjack

Some mind-breaking, soul-sucking ultra-personal tragedy that has no bearing on anything beyond those immediately involved or impacted?

I have to disagree . If you took the above out of the news it would be called the sport and weather hour .

a reply to: Ultralight

Some people go into a complete shut down when they lose
someone who meant the world to them. I've heard of people
who just stare for the rest of their lives. Never speak, or
communicate again in any way. Total shock.

a reply to: Ghost147

Why are you being such a horses rear end?

I know the facts are lacking, but most people that read the article also deduced what you were saying. That is one of the most annoying faults I find on these sites. Someone will take one word or statement out of the entire thread or post. They then form a opinion based on that one premise and ignore the sentiments of the whole OP.

Without the actual autopsy. I surmised that the mother awoke and found the baby dead and could not except it. People with the real hearts tend to think that way.

a reply to: Greathouse

It's to be hoped for most devoutedly...

I can't begin to imagine the sort of trauma that would cause this sort of response. ...and may God spare me from it.

I'm kinda sorry I clicked on this one... Sad doesn't even begin to cover it.