katydid23
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Marilyn Lemak murdered her kids over one affair her husband had. I've seen no evidence of multiple affairs in this case. One would be enough. JMO
I did a bit of research last night on Lemak. Apparently, she had a long history of mental health issues, most notably severe depression.
And her husband did not simply have an affair. He moved out, and began living with a nurse, from where he and his wife, both worked.
Lexmark began showing signs of severe emotional distress for a week or more before she killed the kids. There are reports from friends, co workers describing how she was falling apart emotionally and distraught. She would begin crying mid sentence and not be able to stop.
So it is hard to compare it to this case. Nothing like that was described in SW's behavior previously.
ETA:
At the October 1999 court hearing, Lemak's father said his daughter first divulged her problems to her family less than a month before the slayings. Prior to a Valentine's Day dinner not attended by her husband, Lemak broke down sobbing and acknowledged taking anti-depressants, her father testified. When he saw his daughter in the hospital after surgeons treated her self-inflicted wounds, he said her voice was weak and childlike.
Her attorneys are expected to use a number of mental-health experts to buttress their insanity defense. Dr. Arden Barnett, a psychiatrist who examined Lemak at Edward Hospital, said at the same 1999 hearing that he believed Lemak was suffering from major depression, a clinical mental-health diagnosis.
Marilyn Lemak | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
You have also used Susan Smith as an example, to compare to SW. But if you look at her case, again, VERY DIFFERENT. Susan Smith had very traumatic childhood, filled with sexual abuse and ongoing incest. She had attempted suicide on at least 2 occasions. She had drug.alcohol problems and was pretty messed up emotionally and psychologically.
I don't think it is an apt comparison in this case. JMO