Posted on 01/28/2020 5:52:39 PM PST by BenLurkin
A Pima County Superior Court judge sentenced 56-year-old Dorothy Flood on Monday in the killings of Jorden and Jaden Webb last April. Flood was the guardian and sole caregiver for the boys after her daughter died in 2017.
According to court documents, the twins had severe autism and were nonverbal, and detectives said Flood told a relative that they boys had become too much for her as the boys had been having trouble sleeping.
Flood originally was charged with first-degree murder but she pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter as part of a deal with prosecutors.
Flood will be given credit for 297 days of time already served. With family members in the courtroom, Flood apologized before she was sentenced by Judge Howard Fell.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
Sounds like the poor woman was overwhelmed.
I doubt she ever intended to be sole caregiver for two extreme special needs kids in her twilight years.
My heart goes out to all involved. Be kind because unless you walk in her shoes you have no idea what her life was like. My grand daughter is nonverbal autistic. She is 9 years old and it gets harder every day. When I am alone with her there is no such thing as sleep. She can go 24 hours and then only needs a short nap to start again. She is smart and will try to escape the house. Our windows all have locks and so does the fridge. She will open the fridge and take things out and throw them on the floor. Seriously it is a 24/7 eyes on job.
No sleep and the constant attention are grueling. I can’t imagine doubling this.
You lose friends and even family because your life revolves around keeping them safe. You really have to walk the walk to understand.
What the heck. She should have gotten two life sentences at least. You act like there was no alternative at all other than to kill them?
And you are a female murderer apologist. First stinking post on this thread you are crying for her. Shes 56 years old, if the kids are beyond her capability you ask for help and maybe get them to people who can handle their problems.
I’d feel bad for a man saddled with two non-verbal autistic boys too, even if he cracked and killed them. No way in hell would I take on that burden.
I sincerely hope you find yourself in similar situation someday.
The Judge who approved this woman as primary caregiver, should have known it would likely become too much for her.
This doesn’t excuse the murders. Of course not. But none of this had to happen. A 56 y/o taking care of two 9 y/o autistic brothers?
Those boys hadn’t even begun showing all the energy, all the mania they eventually would have been capable of as teens.
As one who has worked with autistic children in schools as a one to one aide, I’ve seen it go in either direction.
Once the child hits puberty, some tend to level off, while others tend to flare up higher, perhaps due to the natural hormonal changes.
If Grandma was to be their primary live in caregiver, then by all means, a Social Worker should have provided her with a few respite workers! Give that grandparent a break, and on a reliable scheduled basis. Maybe the boys had never been brought into the regional system, and nothing had ever been structured. It takes a while to complete, and that only when you ask the right questions to the right professionals.
When my son brings my grand daughter to me he says “Now it’s your turn to keep her alive.”
BTW.. his wife couldn’t take it. She found being a meth addict much of an easier way to go. Sometimes I think she was right.
I DON’T FEEL BAD ENOUGH TO BE AN APOLOGIST FOR MURDERING THE KIDS.
Yours and others idiotic assumptions that I don’t feel bad for people taking care of disabled relatives is crazy. No amount of sympathy will ever come close to excusing what she did when in this country there are SO MANY options available to people that need help. There is no other place on earth that has organizations and government programs of all kinds that can be appealed to.
I’m sure you do. You’ve just condemned yourself.
I just want you to be able to prove how much better you are than she.
You condemned yourself a long, long time ago, oh perfect one.
You should read a few articles about how severely autistic children behave. I certainly don’t think the woman should have killed her grandkids. But the accounts I have read of severely aggressive autistic children are horrifying. I would NEVER be able to care for a violent child who only sleeps one hour a day. Some parents turn their autistic children over to the state, because they cannot take care of them, and have no money for the outrageously expensive private institutions. That would be heartbreaking, but of course, preferable to killing them. Maybe Arizona has no such centers, or has a long waiting list. Obviously, the grandmother felt completely helpless, as in, no where to turn. I’m kind of surprised she didn’t take her own life, as well.
I have sympathy for your family going through this, but has your son considered placing her in a skilled facility or a g
Group Home? There are some good places out there.
Perhaps, he is not yet ready to have that discussion.
Oh really? Tell me the name of some of these organizations and government programs that will help someone care for autistic kids.
Again, if they are beyond the capability for her to care for, you get them to people who can. she’s 56 years old and this is what you do. you get them into a place that have people trained to deal with difficult disease cases.
Good grief we have women and men older than this that place their own spouses in nursing homes for far less, its not like they haven’t thought of this in other cases where care is beyond what they can do. Its not rocket science if you can’t handle it you get them somewhere that can.
She tried to, according to the story at at the link. Drug overdose. But she survived, and now they're putting her in prison. I suppose even prison is better than trying to take care of two children like that on your own.
Two murders of 8 year olds with a gun and she gets 21 years? Why is sirhan sirhan still in jail?
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