GUILTY SC - Devon Epps, 7, murdered, Greenville, 12 Aug 2007

[Kymistry35]

I am so glad that she is going to get what she deserves for this. I don't know why she thought she would get away with it. That poor little boy...may he rest in peace.

 

[sherri79]

One poster close to the family had previously stated that Devon had been diagnosed with ADHD and had been given medicine for it, but that ARS refused to give it to him, even when they were to get free assistance for him.

Another has now stated that Devon had Tourette's and that ARS also had it, but in her it only "caused a slight twitch."

Regardless of whether Devon had either, he deserved to live a full and happy life. There were others in the family who watched him when she was working or wanted to go party. There were other options for her to take, other than murdering him.

i find it interesting that he is said to have both tourette's and ADHD. i did not know until my son with ADHD developed tics that the conditions are linked. most children with ADHD dont have tourette's but most children with tourette's have either ADD or ADHD and it develops between the age of 7 and 10 in most children. i can understand how a single mother with a child that had problems can feel overwhelmed. i can not ever understand how a mother can kill her child. if you can not find enough joy in a childs smile or hug to make up for the bad days dont raise 1. i know my kids bring me tons of stress and i know alot of mothers have it worse than me. if you dont love the child enough to make it worth it give the child away. if this woman had a soul she would not have harmed her child.

 

[Taximom]

One of the side effects to watch for with some ADD/ADHD meds are tics. I guess she wasn't even giving him the meds in the first place though. That poor kid. He probably lived a hell on earth with her for a mom.

From what I read on other forums it sounds like he was much loved by many others in or close to the family. I hope that made up for what he probably wasn't getting with her.

sherri79, I know exactly what you mean about our kids being a handful. When his dad describes Devon he does (did) sound like a handful! I just don't understand when you start thinking killing your child is a way out.

Could it have been rage? She probably took all her problems out on him and maybe this time it was fatal.

I don't know. I just don't know.

 

[sherri79]

One of the side effects to watch for with some ADD/ADHD meds are tics. I guess she wasn't even giving him the meds in the first place though. That poor kid. He probably lived a hell on earth with her for a mom.

From what I read on other forums it sounds like he was much loved by many others in or close to the family. I hope that made up for what he probably wasn't getting with her.

sherri79, I know exactly what you mean about our kids being a handful. When his dad describes Devon he does (did) sound like a handful! I just don't understand when you start thinking killing your child is a way out.

Could it have been rage? She probably took all her problems out on him and maybe this time it was fatal.

I don't know. I just don't know.

somehow it would be better if it was a rage. to kill your child is unforgivable but it seems worse if it is planned out. i fear she did plan it. i dont know if the fire was a first attempt or gave her the idea but i feel it is a factor. the chance that a child will escape a fire in his bedroom that destroys the house only months before his mother kills him seems unlikely to me. my theory is he was a real handful. what my granny woulda called "all boy". from reading her different versions of my space i think she was very very self centered. after reading her tribute to him this feeling was reinforced. i got to read how she suffered but not a word about who her son was. after his tribute i did not know what color he liked, what food, what hobby, what sports, favorite past time, grade in school, best friends name... u get the idea. nothing about him all about poor her. a woman who only cared about herself had a child that was a drain on her. after the fire she saw how much attention she got and wanted more. who gets more pity and attention than a mother who has lost her child?

and you are correct about the meds. they can cause tics or make them worse in a tourette's child but if it is true he was unmediated that would not have been a factor.

 

[sweetmop]

I want to share this poem with all of you. :blowkiss:



A Prayer For the Children

We pray for children who sneak Popsicles before supper,
Who erase holes in math workbooks,
Who can never find their shoes.


WOW sweetmop- your poem REALLY touched my heart- I have been following this case from the beginning and I too, have a son who is 9 years old and is energetic and a typical "wild,crazy, and curious" boy. Ever since I read this story, I have made an effort to spend more time with him and give him en extra hug and kiss each day that poor Devon should have recieved- There are so many options that single mothers have ( and it sounds like she had other relatives that could have taken/watched him if she needed a break) and she took a cowards way out and I hope her punishment fits her crime- Your poem you posted was so profound and deep- I cant stop re-reading it. I apoligize for not continuing- I cant stop crying and praying that sweet baby Devon rests in peace now- God bless you and all the other WS'ers out there that continue to give facts and tips to LE to stop these crazy people.

You're welcome, Chicogirl36. I was given this poem from a nurse coworker several years ago. I was working in pediatric icu at the time, and for 5 years I saw up close alot of atrocious horrors commited upon innocent children. It took a toll literally on my health!
I changed specialties to neonatal icu, working with sweet little preemies, where you care for them and their scared, distraught parents, but 9 times out of ten, there is a happy ending for these families these days! Thank God for that.

I have been following this case and I prayed that Amanda would not turn out to be the murderer of Devon. So sad. I read an article last night that stated Amanda had a lesbian lover, who didn't like Devon. Can you imagine this type of mind? Pure evil!

 

[dark_shadows]

Oh dear dark_shadows, I am so sorry for the 14 years that you went through. Your composure was given you by God. I am sure you already know that though. It hurts me to hear of this and I am so sorry for such awful years you had to endure.
No one should have to endure such as that! I pray that you really are ok today and that you now have a life and a peace that you so deserve.

I am so sorry Dear One. I know that you are a strong person, as that certainly shows through all of your posts!

God bless you greatly always, dark_shadows.
:blowkiss:
I care.

My dearest Sweetmop,:blowkiss:
Thank-you with all of my heart for your kind words.
My life is good.
All of those years of being employed as a Correctional Officer, I truly had no life outside of work.

A little over a year ago, while I was still working there, this is a woman that was in the custody of the facility that I worked at;

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42053

She was from Montreal and came here to Vermont to murder her son.

Once again Sweetmop, thank-you for your kind words.

All of my Love and Respect for you,
dark_shadows

 

[mollymalone]

i find it interesting that he is said to have both tourette's and ADHD. i did not know until my son with ADHD developed tics that the conditions are linked. most children with ADHD dont have tourette's but most children with tourette's have either ADD or ADHD and it develops between the age of 7 and 10 in most children. i can understand how a single mother with a child that had problems can feel overwhelmed. i can not ever understand how a mother can kill her child. if you can not find enough joy in a childs smile or hug to make up for the bad days dont raise 1. i know my kids bring me tons of stress and i know alot of mothers have it worse than me. if you dont love the child enough to make it worth it give the child away. if this woman had a soul she would not have harmed her child.

I know very little about either conditions except what I've read, and what my son in law's family has told me (ADHD runs in their family). Refusing to allow him to take the medication which would have helped him was negligence in my op.

From all accounts Devon was loved by both sets of grandparents, aunts, other family members and friends of the families. Many of them babysat Devon and if it had been too much for her to handle, I'm sure someone in the families would have been willing to help. This was no solution that would solve her problems.

 

[OneLostGrl]

I'd like to touch on the Tourettes and ADD/ADHD topic and will try to do so without hijacking the thread.

Tourettes runs in my family, My uncle had it, my cousin had it, I have it and so does my son. The majority of people diagnosed with Tourettes have "mild" cases.. not like ya see on TV with people shouting out curse words. Most people with Tourettes never have to be medicated for it, the side effects of the medications often times can be more debilitating than the tics themselves. Tourettes symptoms also typically lesson with age.

Tourettes is a spectrum disorder and is associated with and is often times comorbid with several other disorders such as ADHD, OCD, Depression, Anxiety, Phobia's, substance abuse, Rage, Bipolar etc etc. What they call this is Tourettes syndrome(+) plus.

 

[mollymalone]

I'd like to touch on the Tourettes and ADD/ADHD topic and will try to do so without hijacking the thread.

Tourettes runs in my family, My uncle had it, my cousin had it, I have it and so does my son. The majority of people diagnosed with Tourettes have "mild" cases.. not like ya see on TV with people shouting out curse words. Most people with Tourettes never have to be medicated for it, the side effects of the medications often times can be more debilitating than the tics themselves. Tourettes symptoms also typically lesson with age.

Tourettes is a spectrum disorder and is associated with and is often times comorbid with several other disorders such as ADHD, OCD, Depression, Anxiety, Phobia's, substance abuse, Rage, Bipolar etc etc. What they call this is Tourettes syndrome(+) plus.

Thank you for that explanation. I didn't realize that. I didn't see any mention of Devon needing medication for Tourettes, but for the ADHD. Those close to the family also said that his mother ARS was verbally abusive to him, so that probably would add to the child's emotional stress level and make things worse.

 

[ckwood32]

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/NEWS01/711070391/1004/NEWS01
Guess Amanda is getting a public defender. I can't imagine having to defend that monster@!

 

[kgeaux]

One poster close to the family had previously stated that Devon had been diagnosed with ADHD and had been given medicine for it, but that ARS refused to give it to him, even when they were to get free assistance for him.

Another has now stated that Devon had Tourette's and that ARS also had it, but in her it only "caused a slight twitch."

Regardless of whether Devon had either, he deserved to live a full and happy life. There were others in the family who watched him when she was working or wanted to go party. There were other options for her to take, other than murdering him.

I'm so glad she's been arrested, I hate what she did to her child, and my only sorrow is that it took this long to put her butt in jail....SO I don't want what I'm about to say to be construed as "supportive" of Amanda.....BUT: ADD and ADHD medications can CAUSE Tourette's in certain children. It did with my nephew. He had ADHD to a degree that would make most people pull their hair out, but anytime my sister put him on meds to control the condition, he would develop Tourette's. He had twitches, jerks, and finally verbalizations. He was never able to take any of the meds to control his ADHD. In fact, my sister could not have given them to him if she had wanted to, because once he developed Tourette's, the doctor refused to write the prescriptions. I'm not sure why this mom did not give her son the meds needed to control his ADD, but there may be a perfectly benign explanation.

 

[mollymalone]

I'm so glad she's been arrested, I hate what she did to her child, and my only sorrow is that it took this long to put her butt in jail....SO I don't want what I'm about to say to be construed as "supportive" of Amanda.....BUT: ADD and ADHD medications can CAUSE Tourette's in certain children. It did with my nephew. He had ADHD to a degree that would make most people pull their hair out, but anytime my sister put him on meds to control the condition, he would develop Tourette's. He had twitches, jerks, and finally verbalizations. He was never able to take any of the meds to control his ADHD. In fact, my sister could not have given them to him if she had wanted to, because once he developed Tourette's, the doctor refused to write the prescriptions. I'm not sure why this mom did not give her son the meds needed to control his ADD, but there may be a perfectly benign explanation.

That may be so. Here's the posts that referred to Devon being ADHD.


nascarchick926
Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:51 am
Devon had ADHD but that was it, if you told him no he knew what that meant. She wouldn't just talk to him like you would your child to get them to stop doing something she would call him all kinds of degrading names and cuss him almost non-stop UNLESS she was around Mr & Mrs. Smith.

nascarchick926
Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 12:10 pm
He was on meds. But the Dr. told ARS something and she didn't like it and stopped taking him to the doctor. And after the fire they was gonna get him free help and she wouldn't do that

 

[OneLostGrl]

I'm so glad she's been arrested, I hate what she did to her child, and my only sorrow is that it took this long to put her butt in jail....SO I don't want what I'm about to say to be construed as "supportive" of Amanda.....BUT: ADD and ADHD medications can CAUSE Tourette's in certain children. It did with my nephew. He had ADHD to a degree that would make most people pull their hair out, but anytime my sister put him on meds to control the condition, he would develop Tourette's. He had twitches, jerks, and finally verbalizations. He was never able to take any of the meds to control his ADHD. In fact, my sister could not have given them to him if she had wanted to, because once he developed Tourette's, the doctor refused to write the prescriptions. I'm not sure why this mom did not give her son the meds needed to control his ADD, but there may be a perfectly benign explanation.

If a person has Tourettes, medication for ADHD can bring on more severe tics. If there is no history of Tourettes and the patient develops tics while taking ADHD medication they have what is called "transient tics" (Tourettes-like symptoms) and they usually go away when the medication is discontinued. Sometimes it can be as simple as a change in medication but other times it means they can't take any medications for their ADHD.

I agree that it may just be that this little boy simply could not take any meds for his ADHD either because he had Tourettes and the meds intensified his tics or the meds just created tics where there used to be none.

Regardless, this woman is a monster and needs to be removed from society!

 

[sherri79]

If a person has Tourettes, medication for ADHD can bring on more severe tics. If there is no history of Tourettes and the patient develops tics while taking ADHD medication they have what is called "transient tics" (Tourettes-like symptoms) and they usually go away when the medication is discontinued. Sometimes it can be as simple as a change in medication but other times it means they can't take any medications for their ADHD.

I agree that it may just be that this little boy simply could not take any meds for his ADHD either because he had Tourettes and the meds intensified his tics or the meds just created tics where there used to be none.

Regardless, this woman is a monster and needs to be removed from society!

i could not agree more. when my son is on no medication his tics are very mild. most people do not even realize what they are. on adderall the tics are so bad he can barely speak and will leave his face sore. when the doctor warned that other adhd medications may cause the same problem we feared he would not be able to take any meds. not only is it hard for him to learn with out the meds but it is difficult for the rest the class because he is a disruption. lucky for us ritalin does not make his tics worse but we had already decided to home school him if he had to come off the medication.i felt pain for my child when i saw him struggle. the thought of causing him pain because he can be difficult some days never crossed my mind. when your child has problems you find a balance between keeping their life normal and giving them the extra hugs they need each day. if you can not do that give him to some1 who will. to kill your child no matter how difficult they make your life makes you a monster not a mother. no matter what problems this child had i can find no excuse for this woman.

 

[mollymalone]

i could not agree more. when my son is on no medication his tics are very mild. most people do not even realize what they are. on adderall the tics are so bad he can barely speak and will leave his face sore. when the doctor warned that other adhd medications may cause the same problem we feared he would not be able to take any meds. not only is it hard for him to learn with out the meds but it is difficult for the rest the class because he is a disruption. lucky for us ritalin does not make his tics worse but we had already decided to home school him if he had to come off the medication.i felt pain for my child when i saw him struggle. the thought of causing him pain because he can be difficult some days never crossed my mind. when your child has problems you find a balance between keeping their life normal and giving them the extra hugs they need each day. if you can not do that give him to some1 who will. to kill your child no matter how difficult they make your life makes you a monster not a mother. no matter what problems this child had i can find no excuse for this woman.

Absolutely, this was not a solution that should have been sought, especially when a child has been farmed out to others the majority of the time and who would have taken over their care given half a chance.

 

[sweetmop]

My dearest Sweetmop,:blowkiss:
Thank-you with all of my heart for your kind words.
My life is good.
All of those years of being employed as a Correctional Officer, I truly had no life outside of work.

A little over a year ago, while I was still working there, this is a woman that was in the custody of the facility that I worked at;

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42053

She was from Montreal and came here to Vermont to murder her son.

Once again Sweetmop, thank-you for your kind words.

All of my Love and Respect for you,
dark_shadows

Hi dark_shadows
You are welcome, but no thanks are needed.
I have been reading here a long time and I always enjoy and agree with your posts. Always.

God bless you for your work, correctional officer. that is heavy duty work. Heavy. I commend you, I couldn't do it.
Patience is a virtue, and you must truely have been blessed with alot of it.

I am sorry for any pain and harm you have experienced in your life's work. Can't believe you had the likes of that woman. What a piece of work she is.
Thank you to you, dark_shadows!

 

[MissieMt]

HOLY SMOKES!!! I just got on here-and am just now reading she was arrested?! God Bless!!! I'm so happy I could scream,lol

ETA: sorry if my reaction seemed a bit harsh. I had been checking on this thread daily for quite some time and finally had gotten so frustrated I had to stop. Seeing that she was arrested makes me so happy. Sweet Devon can now finally have the peace he deserves. I'm now VERY happy that the investigaters took their time with this case, I bet they left her without a single leg to stand on.

 

[dark_shadows]

Hi dark_shadows
You are welcome, but no thanks are needed.
I have been reading here a long time and I always enjoy and agree with your posts. Always.

God bless you for your work, correctional officer. that is heavy duty work. Heavy. I commend you, I couldn't do it.
Patience is a virtue, and you must truely have been blessed with alot of it.

I am sorry for any pain and harm you have experienced in your life's work. Can't believe you had the likes of that woman. What a piece of work she is.
Thank you to you, dark_shadows!

To my very dearest Sweetmop,:blowkiss:
The words of your heart to me mean so very much.
It was very trying to deal with people there threatening suicide and doing suicidal gestures, it was constant. Some were truly depressed and needed to hear me tell them that their life truly was worth living and that they had loved ones who would be devastated without them. I would always refer them to Mental Health. I never knew if they would take my words, or the words of the Mental Heath official to heart while I was talking to them. Of course I would not know that right away and I would go home and worry if they were going to be alive when I returned to work for my next shift. I would be relieved to find out out that they truly did listen to me and Mental Health. I will say that they always thanked me for taking the time to talk to them when I went out of my way sometimes to check on them. I took all suicidal threats very serious, even if the ones who threatened it would do it for attention. Yes there were some that played games threatening suicide and they would admit that they would do it to play games, but all threats would be taken serious. It was trying since many of my friends committed suicide throughout my life and my friends never ever indicated that they would take their own life, I took any threat of suicide that an inmate made serious. No they were not my friends, I had a duty.

No matter what the crime was that an inmate committed, it was not my position to let a any suicidal threat slide. Even if the crime was as heinous as the woman who murdered her son was, a suicide had to be prevented.
If an inmate said to me that they had suicidal thoughts or they did a suicidal gesture, it was my duty to report it, no matter what crime they committed. I was a Correctional Officer, not a Judge.
It is the duty of an Officer to prevent suicide in their custody and care.
Sorry to be so long winded.
With all of my heart, thank -you for your loving post.
So much Love and Respect to you,
dark_shadows

 

[MeoW333]

Thank God justice have been served for Devon. It gives hope to a lot of other cases, many times they may be "still" yet LE is gathering information to make sure they have the ball in their court against defense attorneys, etc.
I'd bet my bottom dollar that Devon's mother was taking his ADD/ADHD medication and abusing it. My sister, a horrible mother, was doing the same thing with my nephew's medication. College kids have snorted Ritalin and the like to get high.

 

[Bobbisangel]

I'm so glad that she was arrested. I really didn't think it was going to happen.
I thought that LE swallowed her lying story. Thank God they didn't. The other women in prison are going to hate this woman.