GUILTY IL - Dora Betancourt, 11, stabbed to death, Mundelein, 21 Jan 2014

[LarkBunting]

Those details indicate a cold-blooded, premeditated killing.

Well planned, savage, and merciless. This definitely belongs in adult court.

Yes. I think the same (mostly). Other times, I think of the kid behind this act & absolutely can't believe this happened. How did a seemingly regular everyday kid end up violently murdering her sister? She loved her sister, & her sister loved her. What the heck happened? I'm still suspended in a state of disbelief.
Then, I start thinking about the terror & pain Dora must have felt, & I can't even imagine. Nobody deserves to die like that, ever, especially not a little child, by the hand of someone she trusted.
And...there was SO MUCH OVERKILL. There was a level of violence not even present in many of the WS threads I have read in the past. Stabbing someone to death with a 4-inch long kitchen knife is an intensely rageful, personal, in-your-face crime. Stabbing someone FORTY TIMES involves plunging a knife into a person & pulling it out again eighty different times. How long did that take? How much physical effort did that take? And, nowhere in all of the time did she think to stop?
I have to think she must have had a psychotic break because how else could a young teen do something that horribly vicious?
My heart is so heavy.


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[LarkBunting]

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[LarkBunting]

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[inthedark14]

What a beautiful little girl. Rest in peace Dora, the world will miss you.

 

[Sonya610]

Trying to understand this kind of rage, and it's hard to believe there were no signs from the 14yo?

I suspect there WERE signs. Plus the police were called to the residence before? A residence with a mom and two daughters?

Historically teenagers are NOT very good at hiding anger at home; course one would expect that refusing to cook dinner would be the first symptom of resentment, not 40 fatal stab wounds.

 

[Sonya610]

Other times, I think of the kid behind this act & absolutely can't believe this happened.

Lark did both of the girls have the same father?

 

[LarkBunting]

Lark did both of the girls have the same father?

No, two different fathers. The first is uninvolved, to my knowledge. The second acted as a dad to both girls.


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[SwampMama]

http://www.kristanfuneralhome.com/m...288&fh_id=11076&forcelayout=mobile#obituaries

I thought this was kind of odd... In the obituary, there is a "in lieu of flowers" statement, which can be completely normal because some people may wish to donate to a fund for the funeral expenses or to a charity or cause in honor of the deceased. But in this case, it seems that in lieu of flowers you can send a monetary donation to the "Dora and ***** (older sister's name) Memorial Fund" at a local bank.

Does anyone else think that is odd? Why put the older sister's name on the "memorial fund" ? I just find that odd in more ways than one.

 

[walkingdeadgirl]

Those details indicate a cold-blooded, premeditated killing.

Well planned, savage, and merciless. This definitely belongs in adult court.

I agree. 14 years old she may be, and probably under stress, but the murder was premeditated, violent, and overkill. She didn't just "snap"...she set her alarm clock. Ding! Time to kill my sister! At some point she made a choice. I have no sympathy for her...only for Dora.

 

[walkingdeadgirl]

http://www.kristanfuneralhome.com/m...288&fh_id=11076&forcelayout=mobile#obituaries

I thought this was kind of odd... In the obituary, there is a "in lieu of flowers" statement, which can be completely normal because some people may wish to donate to a fund for the funeral expenses or to a charity or cause in honor of the deceased. But in this case, it seems that in lieu of flowers you can send a monetary donation to the "Dora and ***** (older sister's name) Memorial Fund" at a local bank.

Does anyone else think that is odd? Why put the older sister's name on the "memorial fund" ? I just find that odd in more ways than one.

That is very odd...and vastly inappropriate if donations are being sought for her attorney fees or the like.

 

[ArianeEmory]

Yes. I think the same (mostly). Other times, I think of the kid behind this act & absolutely can't believe this happened. How did a seemingly regular everyday kid end up violently murdering her sister? She loved her sister, & her sister loved her. What the heck happened? I'm still suspended in a state of disbelief.
Then, I start thinking about the terror & pain Dora must have felt, & I can't even imagine. Nobody deserves to die like that, ever, especially not a little child, by the hand of someone she trusted.
And...there was SO MUCH OVERKILL. There was a level of violence not even present in many of the WS threads I have read in the past. Stabbing someone to death with a 4-inch long kitchen knife is an intensely rageful, personal, in-your-face crime. Stabbing someone FORTY TIMES involves plunging a knife into a person & pulling it out again eighty different times. How long did that take? How much physical effort did that take? And, nowhere in all of the time did she think to stop?
I have to think she must have had a psychotic break because how else could a young teen do something that horribly vicious?
My heart is so heavy.


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Psychotic break is the phrase that keeps coming to mind, yes. Not sociopath. But I still don't know what to do with the info. I guess it's the line where some of us (not all) say "mental hospital not jail". But I also trouble myself by thinking that if genders were reversed I might feel differently. Even so, the way this has been described it really does sound like she "snapped". But couldn't the same be said of Leila Fowler's stepbrother? See, round and round.


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[Linda7NJ]

Psychotic break is the phrase that keeps coming to mind, yes. Not sociopath. But I still don't know what to do with the info. I guess it's the line where some of us (not all) say "mental hospital not jail". But I also trouble myself by thinking that if genders were reversed I might feel differently. Even so, the way this has been described it really does sound like she "snapped". But couldn't the same be said of Leila Fowler's stepbrother? See, round and round.


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I have difficult one finding any excuse.
She set her alarm clock early
Went downstairs to fetch knife
Did the slaughter
Had a lie at the ready and tried to divert blame

Psychopath IMO


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[LarkBunting]

http://www.kristanfuneralhome.com/m...288&fh_id=11076&forcelayout=mobile#obituaries

I thought this was kind of odd... In the obituary, there is a "in lieu of flowers" statement, which can be completely normal because some people may wish to donate to a fund for the funeral expenses or to a charity or cause in honor of the deceased. But in this case, it seems that in lieu of flowers you can send a monetary donation to the "Dora and ***** (older sister's name) Memorial Fund" at a local bank.

Does anyone else think that is odd? Why put the older sister's name on the "memorial fund" ? I just find that odd in more ways than one.

That wasn't there last time I read her obituary. They must have added it today.
I agree that it's wildly inappropriate. I can see donations being used for funeral costs, to cover time off of work for their mother &/or father, to set up a Dora Scholarship Fund at her private school, etc., but I will be appalled if it turns out that any of the money goes to the older sister's legal fees. That's mind bogglingly not okay, IMO.




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[JoeFromLB]

I agree. 14 years old she may be, and probably under stress, but the murder was premeditated, violent, and overkill. She didn't just "snap"...she set her alarm clock. Ding! Time to kill my sister! At some point she made a choice. I have no sympathy for her...only for Dora.

On top of all that, according to reports, she reprimanded her sister with EACH knife thrust. In full control of her actions.

That's sadistic in the extreme.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

http://www.kristanfuneralhome.com/m...288&fh_id=11076&forcelayout=mobile#obituaries

I thought this was kind of odd... In the obituary, there is a "in lieu of flowers" statement, which can be completely normal because some people may wish to donate to a fund for the funeral expenses or to a charity or cause in honor of the deceased. But in this case, it seems that in lieu of flowers you can send a monetary donation to the "Dora and ***** (older sister's name) Memorial Fund" at a local bank.

Does anyone else think that is odd? Why put the older sister's name on the "memorial fund" ? I just find that odd in more ways than one.

The name is tacky but at least they are honest that the money is going to her defense fund?

 

[Elley Mae]

http://www.kristanfuneralhome.com/m...288&fh_id=11076&forcelayout=mobile#obituaries

I thought this was kind of odd... In the obituary, there is a "in lieu of flowers" statement, which can be completely normal because some people may wish to donate to a fund for the funeral expenses or to a charity or cause in honor of the deceased. But in this case, it seems that in lieu of flowers you can send a monetary donation to the "Dora and ***** (older sister's name) Memorial Fund" at a local bank.

Does anyone else think that is odd? Why put the older sister's name on the "memorial fund" ? I just find that odd in more ways than one.

or defense fund?

 

[Softail]

Teen accused of killing sister could be tried as adult

Had she been one year older, a 14-year-old Mundelein girl accused of fatally stabbing her 11-year-old sister would automatically have faced murder charges as an adult under Illinois law.

But because the suspect is younger than 15, Lake County's top prosecutor has discretion in recommending whether she be tried in the juvenile or adult criminal justice systems. The path chosen could lead to very different destinations: If convicted in adult court, the girl could get 20 to 60 years in prison. A guilty verdict in juvenile court would likely mean juvenile detention for seven years, or until she turns 21.

"This will be a tough decision," said State's Attorney Michael Nerheim, who could spend several weeks reviewing the case before making a recommendation. Among the factors he'll consider are the girl's age, criminal and mental health history, public safety and the circumstances of the alleged murder, including possible premeditation.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...d-murder-justice-met-20140126,0,4980225.story

 

[Marg from Oz]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...girl-11-in-mundelein-20140122,0,7915088.story

The above bolded caught my eye. The mother told her 14 year old daughter to call the police???

If my teen daughter called me at work & told me a horrific story (albeit untrue) about someone breaking into the house & stabbing my other daughter, I wouldn't ask my daughter to call the police. As the parent & adult of the household, I'd be the one calling the police.

I'm not surprised that CPS has opened an investigation into possible neglect.

I have no doubt the mother is traumatized at the loss of her youngest daughter's life at the hands of her oldest daughter. So incredibly tragic. Nevertheless, when she got the phone call from her daughter & was told that her youngest daughter had been stabbed, the mother should have been the one to call 911.

IMO, assigning that task to her oldest daughter may be indicative of other adult responsibilities she placed on her 14 year old, especially with the 14 year old's claims that she cooked dinner every night. There is no justification for the 14 year old to brutally stab her younger sister to death. Nevertheless, I think it's important for the family dynamics to be investigated. A 14 year old should not be expected to fulfill the roles of a parent in a household.

We all do different things under stress. I would have wanted to be back at my house A.S.A.P. Getting to find out what happened, if my daughter was O.K. would be my first thought. The daughter was right there and could have been in danger so telling her to call the police would have been my first thoughts plus call an ambulance.

This did happen to me. My husband had a C.V.A. when I was working night shift. My son rang me and I told him to call the ambulance. I wasn't home so I couldn't answer any questions as to his condition. And yes I am an R.N. and was working at the time. I gave the ambulance time to get to the hospital and then I rang them to find out his condition. I was working 45 minutes from home and was the only staff on in a 40 bed low care aged facility. I would have ended up in court and been deregistered if I had walked off the job.

I have a feeling that a proportion of those stabbing thrusts were also directed at her mother. JMO

 

[Sonya610]

I have difficult one finding any excuse.
She set her alarm clock early
Went downstairs to fetch knife
Did the slaughter
Had a lie at the ready and tried to divert blame

Psychopath IMO

Yup, I completely agree. It was premeditated and she had already made up a lie because she was in touch with reality and KNEW it was wrong!

She was not insane.

 

[LarkBunting]

I have a feeling that a proportion of those stabbing thrusts were also directed at her mother. JMO

I have been thinking the same thing.



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