GUILTY IL - Alex Spourdalakis, 14, austistic, killed by mom & caregiver, 9 June 2013

[Strangeworld]

I presume premeditated, since they left a long note explaining their actions.

In that case, I have no sympathy for them in regards to what criminal repercussions they face. I realise their plight has been horrific, but stabbing him? If that was premeditated, that is just awful and I have to say, it disgusts me. No child deserves that, regardless of how much their family is struggling to cope.

 

[TheDuchess]

In that case, I have no sympathy for them in regards to what criminal repercussions they face. I realise their plight has been horrific, but stabbing him? If that was premeditated, that is just awful and I have to say, it disgusts me. No child deserves that, regardless of how much their family is struggling to cope.

Apparently, they have both been charged with first degree murder, so it does appear to be pre-meditated. Apparently, neither of these women planned to be alive to face the legal repercussions. It will be interesting to hear their defense strategy. They are both under suicide watch at the police station.

I do wonder about the father of the boy. Apparently, he is the one who put in the call when he was unable to access the apartment. I don't see him mentioned in any of the previous articles about the plight for Alex to receive medical care and had assumed he was "out of the picture."

This is apparently not the case, and I am anxious to hear what his take on this is and his involvement in the boy's life.

 

[TheDuchess]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...use-of-health-issues-20130612,0,3365747.story

The mother of a 14-year-old austistic River Grove boy and the child’s full-time caregiver explained in a suicide letter that they killed the boy because he was suffering from deteriorating health, prosecutors said today.

The child’s mother, Dorothy Spourdalakis, 50, and the caregiver, Jolanta Agata Skrodzka, 44, each were ordered held without bail this morning after being charged in the stabbing death of the teen.

Spourdalakis and Skrodzka initially tried to kill Alex Spourdalakis on Friday with an overdose of prescribed sleeping pills because they believed his emotional condition had deteriorated after a recent prolonged medical illness, prosecutors said at the Cook County courthouse in Maywood said today. They also believed he was receiving subpar medical treatment, prosecutors said.


Related
Authorities: Mother, caregiver charged in autistic boy's slayingAuthorities: Mother, caregiver charged in autistic boy's slaying
River Grove deathRiver Grove death
Boy, 14, found fatally stabbed in River Grove Boy, 14, found fatally stabbed in River Grove
Maps
River Grove, IL, USA



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When the drugs failed to kill the boy, described by police as “severly autistic,” Dorothy Spourdalakis stabbed him four times in the chest with a kitchen knife, including twice in the heart, and then slit his wrist, almost severing his hand, prosecutors said.

Spourdalakis then gave the knife to the caregiver, who killed the family cat, which the two women said in the letter they did not want sent to a pound after their deaths. The women then cleaned the bloody knife and returned it to the butcher block, prosecutors said.

When the women were assured Alex was dead, they took several pills in an attempt to kill themselves, prosecutors said. They then went into the boy’s bedroom and locked the door.
Both women signed statements admitting their roles in the murder, prosecutors said.

 

[Indy Anna]

Unbelievable. The women claim they killed Alex because of his deteriorating health, and yet they acted with such violence toward him? There's no excuse for what those women did. There are many resources for children and adults like Alex in the community. Was Alex not assigned a county case manager, who could find appropriate services for him?

A county case manager would have protected Alex's rights while he was in the hospital. The hospital's use of restraints was illegal. If the women weren't able to handle Alex any more, they could have placed him in a group home, too. Then he would've had access to medical and health care professionals contracted with the group home, and who had experience treating people with special needs.

 

[Kool-Aid]

Unbelievable. The women claim they killed Alex because of his deteriorating health, and yet they acted with such violence toward him? There's no excuse for what those women did. There are many resources for children and adults like Alex in the community. Was Alex not assigned a county case manager, who could find appropriate services for him?

A county case manager would have protected Alex's rights while he was in the hospital. The hospital's use of restraints was illegal. If the women weren't able to handle Alex any more, they could have placed him in a group home, too. Then he would've had access to medical and health care professionals contracted with the group home, and who had experience treating people with special needs.

I wonder if the mother tried to get all of this help? If not, maybe she was scared of how the resources would treat her son. I don't blame her for not trusting. I've personally seen and heard stories of how those in the medical profession can treat you, especially Doctors.

 

[jjenny]

I wonder if the mother tried to get all of this help? If not, maybe she was scared of how the resources would treat her son. I don't blame her for not trusting. I've personally seen and heard stories of how those in the medical profession can treat you, especially Doctors.

This kid was cared for in the hospital. Mother launched a public campaign to remove him from the hospital. Well it sure doesn't sound like she could handle caring for him herself.

"The two women began caring for Alex full time in March after Spourdalakis launched a public campaign to have her son removed from Loyola University Medical Center and enlisted the help of Age of Autism - an autism activism blog."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...godmother-removed-hospital.html#ixzz2W5wchDzx
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[jjenny]

Family cat was also killed.
"Spourdalakis then gave the knife to Skrodzka, who killed the family cat, which the two women said in the letter they did not want sent to an animal pound after their deaths. The women then cleaned the bloody knife and returned it to the kitchen, prosecutors said."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...bbing-0613-20130613,0,5786633.story?track=rss

 

[TheDuchess]

While certainly not condoning their actions by any sense of the imagination, there are plenty of mitigating factors involved in this case that really don't equate them with cold-blooded killers. Apparently, they tried the drugs, but that didn't work, so they felt their only alternative was the knife. Yikes! Obviously, not a well thought out plan and certainly not 2 women acting in perhaps the right frame of mind. But I fall short of comparing them to the cold-blooded killers running around out there.

Do I feel they need to be punished-sure-but not entirely sure how harshly. It seems as though they did honestly try to make a decision in the best interests of the child (and the cat?) and legitimately did try to end their own lives afterwards. I can't imagine how they must feel waking up "not dead" and now having to face the music.

The case certainly does open up a can of worms, so to speak, for the mental health situation here in Illinois and across the country, especially when it comes to autism. I think a dialog will now come to surface that at least highlights the struggles many families have caring for severely autistic children, or children with other mental health disorders. Caring for a non-verbal severely autistic adult-sized male is no simple task-add to that the fact that he had medical issues that the hospital refused to address or test for, it is frustrating for a parent to watch their child in pain (it is clear from the videos the child is in severe pain.)

I don't think these woman killed this boy because he was too difficult to care for-I think they killed him because there seemed to be no other recourse for allowing the child the kind of medical attention he needed and it was getting worse, along with the fact that he was in danger of hurting himself and others. They obviously didn't kill him because they wanted to get rid of their burden-rather just the opposite. They knew they couldn't care for him and felt strongly that if taken away, there was no possible way anyone could care for him the way he needed to be cared for.

It is just such a sad situation all the way around, and while perhaps guilty of murder, I just can't drop the sympathy I have for these women.

 

[Oblio]

I can't believe I'm just now finding out about this. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and the autistic community as a whole.

 

[jjenny]

I don't see anything suggesting somebody was going to take him away from these women.
Doesn't sound like they wanted to accept help to care for this boy that was offered to them either.
"Still, officials confirm the family had offers of help through the years and they turned them all down."
http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/mother-and-neighbor-stab-autistic-boy-death/nYJXR/

 

[TheDuchess]

I don't see anything suggesting somebody was going to take him away from these women.
Doesn't sound like they wanted to accept help to care for this boy that was offered to them either.
"Still, officials confirm the family had offers of help through the years and they turned them all down."
http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/mother-and-neighbor-stab-autistic-boy-death/nYJXR/

Yeah..I'm not exactly sure of the whole story, as I'm still trying to find out more. Unfortunately, I already know more than my "inside source" about the case!

I do remember reading or hearing on the news that the 2 women felt that the boy's removal from their home was imminent (whether true or not is another story.) Also, as far as offers of help, I am not certain as to what kind of "help" was offered and whether or not the "help" is what the women wanted for the boy.

The entire case, apparently, stems on the fact that the mother felt the boy had a medical problem-some type of gastrointestinal issue, that she felt was the core of a lot of his agitation. Her issue was that the hospital refused to treat the boy medically for the condition, as it was undiagnosed, nor even administer any tests to determine what was actually wrong with him MEDICALLY. The hospitals stance was that they must treat the "mental" issue before they could even try to treat or diagnose the "medical" condition. Their answer was to restrain him to a bed for 38 days, during which time no medical care or tests were done on the boy.

So I think the mother was frustrated because she felt that he wouldn't get the MEDICAL care he needed by any of the MENTAL HEALTH facilities-even the hospital wouldn't do anything for him.

I will dig deeper and try to find out more-but remember-the hospital who treated the boy is the very same one I fault for my brother's death. Just a few tidbits:

After a catastrophic auto accident, my brother was forced to sit up in a wheelchair several times a day as part of his "recovery." He was out of it, with a mouth wired shut and would cry in agony each time he was "put in the chair." Each day, he would be forced into the chair for longer and longer periods of time, during which times he was bullied and was told to "stop crying like a baby." It was later learned upon a simple X-ray, that my brother had a broken tail bone in addition to the other multiple broken bones-sitting in a chair was torture for him.

Several years later, he entered the hospital for severe back pain after playing golf. They admitted him in order to "safely" give him a strong narcotic for the pain. The narcotic nearly killed him and he had an actual "near death experience." They had to revive him by using some kind of anecdote. After the episode, the doctor decided they probably gave him too much of that particular drug, so gave him another dose, which was 50% less than the first dose. They then left him in a room with no monitors and only an IV. Several hours later, when a nurse walked into the room to check on him, his IV was pulled out of his arm from an apparent struggle, and he was dead. The 2nd dose killed him and this time it was too late. He was 40 years old and left a wife, a 9 year old daughter and a 7 year old autistic son.

 

[Swirlz]

Alex Spourdalakis didn’t die because of his autism

Alex Spourdalakis did not die because of his autism. He wasn’t “mercy killed” to relieve his suffering. He didn’t die because there aren’t enough services for people with autism. He didn’t die because people didn’t donate to Andrew Wakefield to “cure” him. He died because his mother and godmother chose to fill him full of sleeping pills. When that didn’t work, they stabbed him repeatedly and slit his wrists while he laid defenseless in his bed.

Alex’s mother didn’t murder her son because she couldn’t get him help. She didn’t murder her son to put him out of his misery. She’s not a martyr. She’s mentally ill, any parent who can murder their child has got to be. Her mental break wasn’t Alex’s fault.

It sickens me to see the media playing this story in a way that almost makes what those two women did excusable on any level. That blames everyone else besides the people who actually had the knife in their hands. They chose this. THEY CHOSE THIS. They chose to not seek further help. They chose to believe that his autism was a curse. They chose to not keep fighting. They chose to murder that boy.

I get that there aren’t enough services for people with disabilities. I understand this better than I can detail in a short blog post. But that doesn’t for a second lessen what these people did here. I get being at the end of your rope. I’ve been there. But there are OTHER options. ANY OTHER OPTION would have sufficed.

 

[TheDuchess]

From a close perspective: I spoke with my sister-in-law last night, who is a parent of an autistic 16 year old boy. She also lives very close to this event and goes to church about 100 yards away from the murders. Her daughter knows the boy's older sister and they were in the same class in grade school together when they were much younger. (They are both 18 years old and just graduated high school.)

My sister-in-law is outraged about this case and feels that these women had NO EXCUSE to kill this boy. She feels that ANY OTHER solution would have been better than the one they chose. Although, as I mentioned above, her husband died at the hands of one of the hospitals referenced in the case, she mentioned that this boy was at 3 separate hospitals, so she feels that ALL of these hospitals cannot possibly be wrong about the care the boy was receiving. She also feels that there must be some mental health situation going on with the woman, but that she feels absolutely no pity for either of the women. They knew what they were doing, came up with a plan, carried it out and tried to kill themselves to avoid punishment. There is no defense for this, in her eyes.

Also, she said that she did see the father at a special prayer service they had at the church for the boy. Apparently the father goes to the same church. However, at Sunday mass, she was appalled that the priest told the congregation that they should not "judge" the women. Basically, saying that perhaps this was a mercy killing and should be forgiveable??? She was so offended she nearly walked out of the church, but she is such a quiet and shy person, she just couldn't do it.

I just thought I would share a different perspective from someone near to the case as well as a parent of an autistic boy of the same age as Alex.

 

[hopingicanhelp]

In that case, I have no sympathy for them in regards to what criminal repercussions they face. I realise their plight has been horrific, but stabbing him? If that was premeditated, that is just awful and I have to say, it disgusts me. No child deserves that, regardless of how much their family is struggling to cope.

They could have written the letter AFTER his death, trying to help those left behind understand before deciding to punish themselves with death.

 

[hopingicanhelp]

From a close perspective: I spoke with my sister-in-law last night, who is a parent of an autistic 16 year old boy. She also lives very close to this event and goes to church about 100 yards away from the murders. Her daughter knows the boy's older sister and they were in the same class in grade school together when they were much younger. (They are both 18 years old and just graduated high school.)

My sister-in-law is outraged about this case and feels that these women had NO EXCUSE to kill this boy. She feels that ANY OTHER solution would have been better than the one they chose. Although, as I mentioned above, her husband died at the hands of one of the hospitals referenced in the case, she mentioned that this boy was at 3 separate hospitals, so she feels that ALL of these hospitals cannot possibly be wrong about the care the boy was receiving. She also feels that there must be some mental health situation going on with the woman, but that she feels absolutely no pity for either of the women. They knew what they were doing, came up with a plan, carried it out and tried to kill themselves to avoid punishment. There is no defense for this, in her eyes.

Also, she said that she did see the father at a special prayer service they had at the church for the boy. Apparently the father goes to the same church. However, at Sunday mass, she was appalled that the priest told the congregation that they should not "judge" the women. Basically, saying that perhaps this was a mercy killing and should be forgiveable??? She was so offended she nearly walked out of the church, but she is such a quiet and shy person, she just couldn't do it.

I just thought I would share a different perspective from someone near to the case as well as a parent of an autistic boy of the same age as Alex.

Your sister-in-law has her reasons for feeling the way she does, you have your reasons, I have mine, and so does everyone else.

I'm not a "religious" person, not an atheist, just won't commit to a particular religion -- I simply believe in multiple possibilities.

I am putting faith in this priest, believing what he meant to say is that none of us are in the position to JUDGE anyone, as none of us know all the facts unless present at the time, and on top it's God's job to judge, not ours. I think the priest was acknowledging how complicated life can be, things aren't always black and white, that our brains are comprised of logic and emotion -- not all decisions are made with both functions -- and that we should treat our fellow humans with compassion.

While I will always play devil's advocate due to having been personally misjudged and maligned in the past, I know that "normally" commonsense rules and if it looks like a duck, it probably is.... but there are those one-offs.

No one can know her intentions -- all we can see are the facts... mitigation should come in the penalty phase... if Ellie Nesler had to serve time for the righteous anger she felt and the revenge she exacted, most definitely this mother needs to face the music. I think she agreed, hence the suicide attempt ... at least her older daughter will still have the opportunity to visit her mother.... jmo

 

[Swirlz]

It is entirely possible that someone in the home flew in to a rage and started stabbing then did all the rest to try and cover things up. We can't and don't know yet. The fact that they "get points" because the child in their care had autism isn't just offensive. It's dangerous. People really and truly do get away with things like this because we're so comfortable assuming that "nice" people can be driven to murder by being forced to care for a disabled person.

Lots of people can be driven to murder by lots of things and we're fine with the idea of putting them away and letting prison shrinks deal with their problems. Men are driven to murder all the time by spouses who cheat on them or have the gall to, you know, have friends and jobs and goals. They really are truly distressed by this and yet it is not a good enough reason to kill. How many rounds have gone about apologists for those murderers. We quickly identify people as misogynists when they hint at the idea that someone who has murdered a woman might have had a right to that kind of rage. Why do we do it here? Come on. We know this story. Here it's applied to an even more vulnerable group. Are there people more vulnerable than children who can't communicate verbally or run away?

If we want a poster child for NEEDS MORE UNDERSTANDING there is bound to be someone in all our home towns who is not covered in her child's blood but instead is wearing yoga pants and a holey tee shirt and hasn't had a night out in five years.

 

[TheDuchess]

It is entirely possible that someone in the home flew in to a rage and started stabbing then did all the rest to try and cover things up. We can't and don't know yet. The fact that they "get points" because the child in their care had autism isn't just offensive. It's dangerous. People really and truly do get away with things like this because we're so comfortable assuming that "nice" people can be driven to murder by being forced to care for a disabled person.

Lots of people can be driven to murder by lots of things and we're fine with the idea of putting them away and letting prison shrinks deal with their problems. Men are driven to murder all the time by spouses who cheat on them or have the gall to, you know, have friends and jobs and goals. They really are truly distressed by this and yet it is not a good enough reason to kill. How many rounds have gone about apologists for those murderers. We quickly identify people as misogynists when they hint at the idea that someone who has murdered a woman might have had a right to that kind of rage. Why do we do it here? Come on. We know this story. Here it's applied to an even more vulnerable group. Are there people more vulnerable than children who can't communicate verbally or run away?

If we want a poster child for NEEDS MORE UNDERSTANDING there is bound to be someone in all our home towns who is not covered in her child's blood but instead is wearing yoga pants and a holey tee shirt and hasn't had a night out in five years.

Yes...I see the point of it being a slippery slope. As far as "judging" the woman, I don't really think that it is only for God to "judge" her in the reality of the situation. Sure, only God can judge whether or not she will have salvation and that is between them. But we certainly can and do judge people every day as a society.

The fact of the matter is that she has apparently decided to end the child's life (as did the other woman) and did so with premeditation. That would be Murder One. As for punishment, I would definitely think that the mitigating circumstances would definitely come into play. I couldn't imagine this woman getting the same punishment as say a child predator who kills a child in cold blood.

But that said...the act was horrid...stabbing him to death??? How in the world does someone stab him to death not one but four times???

 

[MsFacetious]

This isn't MSM, but has links to MSM for where they got the information.


The murder of a 14-year-old nonverbal autistic boy, Alex Spourdalakis, has made national news. It didn’t make national news because his mother and godmother, by their own admission, killed him. It didn’t make national news because they overdosed him with sleeping pills, stabbed him multiple times, and slit his wrist so deeply his hand was nearly severed.

It made national news because both the National Council on Disability (NCD) and the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) have called for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Alex’s murder as a hate crime under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.

-------------------------------

The agency offered the family support services, but the offer was not accepted, he said.

http://www.babble.com/mom/advocacy-...th-hate-crime-in-murder-of-alex-spourdalakis/

 

[Mahouston69]

Unforgivable. My youngest of five sons,, 21, is severely Autistic, non-verbal, with a chronic sleep disorder, constant stimmimg, rips his clothing, gastro problems that make him vomit daily. His father committed suicide via overdose when he was 5. It consumes our lives.

No sympathy or excuse for killing your child. none.
You take him to another hospital, you take him to a facility and/or doctor who specializes in autism. They are all over the country. I would sell everything I owned to get to one. Special needs attorneys everywhere who now charge contingency fees to represent parents in due process hearings. His school is required to provide 1:1 care if needed. Her violence was unnecessary on any level. The pain, terror, and trauma he had to have experienced during his murder is unimaginable. To excuse her subscribes to the belief he was unable to comprehend his own mother was killing him, or it was for the best.

She deserves to die. He didn't.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://7online.com/news/alexs-story...nal-months-of-a-boy-with-autisms-life/440212/

In an Eyewitness News exclusive report, newly-obtained interviews reveal the pain, frustration and fear facing a family as they cared for a suburban boy with a severe form of autism. The videos capture the final months of the child's life before his mother and godmother are accused of murdering him more than a year ago...

Alex's final weeks were captured on camera by an autism advocacy group, and turned into a film titled: "Who Killed Alex Spourdalakis?" "We clearly didn't anticipate the end of this. This was part of a reality show in which we were trying to show how these children could be made better; but what we captured was in fact a prelude to an alleged murder," said Andy Wakefield, Autism Media Channel...

Dorothy Spourdalakis and Agatha Skrodzka are in the Cook County Jail awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges.