GUILTY CA - Alaina Stockdill, 8, drowned in bathtub, Ventura, 20 Sept 2010

[JoeFromLB]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...charged-with-killing-8-year-old-daughter.html

A Ventura woman has been arrested on suspicion of killing her 8-year-old daughter, whose body was found in the woman's condominium several days after she died, authorities said Tuesday.

Blair Stockdill, 25, was arrested Monday after neighbors called 911, according to a statement from the Ventura Police Department.

Neighbors in a condominium complex in the 1300 block of Saratoga Avenue reported that someone had been stabbed and said they heard a person screaming, “She is dead!”

When officers arrived at the scene just after 11:30 a.m., they found a man with knife wounds on his arms and Stockdill holding a knife.

After searching the home, police found the body of an 8-year-old girl, later determined to have been dead “for several days.”

 

[JoeFromLB]

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/sep/21/authorities-try-to-determine-cause-of-childs-in/

Alaina was a student at Elmhurst School in Ventura, and counselors were expected to be on hand this morning to help students and staff members deal with the loss. There also were reports that a candlelight vigil for the girl will be held at 7 p.m. today at the Peppertree apartment complex.

Police said the girl had been dead for several days when they found her.

People who knew Alaina had previously expressed concerns about her welfare, and several had called Child Protective Services, neighbors said.

Stephanie Bura, who lives nearby, said she recently called CPS after the young girl came to her. “She said that the mom wouldn’t let her breathe, she would cover her nose and her mouth ... with her hands,” Bura said.

 

[Cypros]

A friend lives in the same apartment complex. She did not know the girl but had seen her around. Neighbors are saying that little Alaina had been telling people that her mother was trying to kill her.

RIP Alaina. So sorry that you were let down by everybody who was supposed to watch out for you.

 

[Cypros]

Who is that pictured in the article? It looks too old to be the 8 year old but too young to be a mother of an 8 year old.

added: I just looked at the second article with more pictures. The mother is very young.

 

[JoeFromLB]

A friend lives in the same apartment complex. She did not know the girl but had seen her around. Neighbors are saying that little Alaina had been telling people that her mother was trying to kill her.

RIP Alaina. So sorry that you were let down by everybody who was supposed to watch out for you.

Someone from the little girl's school (the principal?) was interviewed on local news, and said the mother called in last Thursday to say her daughter would not be coming to school that day. She didn't come in on Friday either. She was probably dead by then.

 

[JoeFromLB]

This excerpt is from Google's cache. The current page does not show this, so I don't know if this information is accurate:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&lr=lang_en&client=firefox-a

Police say that Stockdill had recently regained legal custody of her daughter. The manner and cause of death of the little girl is pending an autopsy Tuesday. Neighbors have said that there were previous concerns about suspected abused of the little girl and that Children's Protective Services and police had been to the apartment in the past. Stockdill was booked into the Ventura County Jail on a murder charge. Her bail was set at $500,000. Stockdill has two convictions for petty theft and another conviction for disturbing the peace. On November 13, 2003, the Department of Child Support Services filed a complaint against Stockdill on behalf of the minor child Alaina Stockdill, according to family court records. There is another case in family court that is still active. According to court records, Stockdill filed a complaint against a man seeking a court order allegeding domestic violence. That was just last month. It indicates that on September 3rd of this month, Stockdill's request for a temporary restraining order was denied. A notice of hearing was pending.

 

[Salem]

RIP Alaina. I'm so sorry we lost you. Fly high with the Angels sweetie!

Salem

 

[LadyL]

I don't know about anyone else but if an 8 year old told me her mother was trying to kill her, I'd be calling the cops, not CPS.

 

[LadyL]

Who is that pictured in the article? It looks too old to be the 8 year old but too young to be a mother of an 8 year old.

added: I just looked at the second article with more pictures. The mother is very young.

she's 25 :waitasec:

 

[LadyL]

Stockdill had recently regained legal custody of her daughter, police said.

ugh.

 

[JoeFromLB]

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/sep/22/cause-of-ventura-girls-death-drowning/

Earlier today, the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office reported that Alaina died of asphyxia by drowning. The girl was found Monday in her mother’s Ventura apartment, and police believe she had been dead for several days.

The manner of drowning indicated homicide, Chief Deputy Medical Examiner James Baroni said. He said the determination stemmed from the autopsy and a field investigation of the girl’s death. The autopsy was completed Tuesday.

 

[SunnieRN]

TWA Alaina, ^j^, I am so sorry that everyone failed to rescue you.

 

[Tuffy]

RIP Alaina

 

[Filly]

Blair Stockdill appears in court.





http://www.keyt.com/news/local/Mother-Accused-of-Drowning-Her-Child-Appears-in-Court-105573623.html


Prior criminal record. History of mental illness.

 

[Missizzy]

I won't be popular for saying this but a young girl getting pregnant at 15 and giving birth at 16 is often praised by some for her love of her child and her stance against terminating a seriously ill-timed pregnancy--one that can even endanger her health. She would be praised again for fighting to get the child back from children's services or from another parent. Our society expects mothers to fight for their children. It seems that Blair did just that. I wonder if she was ever counseled to do just that--at the time of her pregnancy and again for custody? That saddens me as this woman was but a child herself when she gave birth, and a mentally ill one at that.

Concerning the mental illness. It wasn't a secret, obviously. What did we, as a society, allow to happen to this child and to this young woman? If a woman with dementia had custody of a child, we would remove the child, for the safety and well-being of both. We certainly might allow supervised visits but not custody. Why wouldn't the same action take place in light of a young woman with a serious mental illness?

It seems to me that Blair gave off many many vibes that she was breaking down. Even her daughter knew. This didn't have to happen.

 

[kgeaux]

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/sep/21/authorities-try-to-determine-cause-of-childs-in/

Alaina was a student at Elmhurst School in Ventura, and counselors were expected to be on hand this morning to help students and staff members deal with the loss. There also were reports that a candlelight vigil for the girl will be held at 7 p.m. today at the Peppertree apartment complex.

Police said the girl had been dead for several days when they found her.

People who knew Alaina had previously expressed concerns about her welfare, and several had called Child Protective Services, neighbors said.

Stephanie Bura, who lives nearby, said she recently called CPS after the young girl came to her. “She said that the mom wouldn’t let her breathe, she would cover her nose and her mouth ... with her hands,” Bura said.

A friend lives in the same apartment complex. She did not know the girl but had seen her around. Neighbors are saying that little Alaina had been telling people that her mother was trying to kill her.

RIP Alaina. So sorry that you were let down by everybody who was supposed to watch out for you.

It breaks my heart to learn that this precious little girl was reaching out for help, and she found none. I am so thankful that her fear and her suffering have ended, that she will never again experience the pain and betrayal that her mother brought into her short life.

I won't be popular for saying this but a young girl getting pregnant at 15 and giving birth at 16 is often praised by some for her love of her child and her stance against terminating a seriously ill-timed pregnancy--one that can even endanger her health. She would be praised again for fighting to get the child back from children's services or from another parent. Our society expects mothers to fight for their children. It seems that Blair did just that. I wonder if she was ever counseled to do just that--at the time of her pregnancy and again for custody? That saddens me as this woman was but a child herself when she gave birth, and a mentally ill one at that.

Concerning the mental illness. It wasn't a secret, obviously. What did we, as a society, allow to happen to this child and to this young woman? If a woman with dementia had custody of a child, we would remove the child, for the safety and well-being of both. We certainly might allow supervised visits but not custody. Why wouldn't the same action take place in light of a young woman with a serious mental illness?

It seems to me that Blair gave off many many vibes that she was breaking down. Even her daughter knew. This didn't have to happen.

Mental illness trumps age, any day, IMO. A mentally ill mother of ANY age is a challenge to her children at best, and a horror at worst. That this little child tried so hard to get help for herself and did not receive it just horrifies me. God knows our country doesn't value little ones like we should, when neighbors and state agencies will know of problems like this and not step up to save the child! We do not treasure our children as we should, and we fail too often to help the mentally ill.

You haven't offended me, but I did want to point out that some of the best mommas I have ever known were young when they had their children.

My own grandmother was wed at 13, delivered her first baby at 14 and was such an awesome example to me of how to love and raise little ones!

 

[JoeFromLB]

Stockdill pleads not guilty to murder of her daughter:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/feb/10/ventura-woman-pleads-not-guilty-to-killing/

(This is the latest information I can find about this case.)


RIP, Alaina...

 

[JoeFromLB]

Stockdill changed her plea to Not Guilty by reason of insanity. Two psychologists will evaluate her, and will give their report to the court on May 9.

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/feb/07/blair-stockdill-changes-plea-in-ventura-child/

 

[JoeFromLB]

Blair Stockdill pleaded guilty in December to first-degree murder by reason of insanity, and was sentenced on January 9th to 25 years to life. She will be confined in a locked state mental facility.

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/dec/14/blair-stockdill-pleads-guilty-to-drowning-in/

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/jan/09/blair-stockdill-gets-25-years-to-life-for-young/