ISABELLE (Issy) STAPLETON - 14 yo - / Accused: Mother, Kelli Stapleton - Elberta, MI

Michigan mom tries to kill self, autistic teen daughter in murder-suicide try: cops

Kelli Stapleton, 45, and her daughter Issy, 14, were rushed to the hospital after being found in the family van, where coal had been burned with the windows rolled up.

 NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, September 7, 2013, 3:45 PM


Stapleton Family/AP
Kelli Stapleton, a 45-year-old Northern Michigan woman faces charges in what police say was a failed attempt at killing herself and her 14-year-old daughter Issy Stapleton, right,

The mother of an autistic teen was arrested for the botched suicide-murder attempt that left them both unconscious, authorities said.

Kelli Stapleton, 45, and her daughter Issy, 14, were hospitalized after police found them in the family's van where coal had been burned with the windows rolled up. But now the mom is in jail charged with attempted murder.

"The officers could tell immediately that the mother had been successful in generating the carbon monoxide," state police Lt. Kip Belcher said.

Stapleton's husband Matt says he received a disturbing phone call from her and realized their family van was gone — to make matters worse he could not find Issy.

"He took that as a disconcerting message ... despondent," said Belcher.

After searching the family's home in Elberta, near Lake Michigan, he alerted police to be on the look-out for their van.

When police found the van parked in a rural area, they rushed the mother and daughter to the hospital. Issy is still in critical condition at a hospital in Grand Rapids, her father said.

"She is currently receiving help from a respirator and breathing tube, and her blood pressure is stable," he wrote in an email to the media. "At this time, she is still unresponsive after being lifted from the medically induced coma she was put in for the treatment of her injuries."

The couple opened up about the difficulties of raising their acutely autistic child to the Traverse City Record-Eagle last March.

They discussed dealing with medical insurance and government agencies trying to get the care their daughter needed.
Issy was violence-prone and would attack her mother occasionally, hospitalizing her twice.

An autism training and research center told the family that Issy would need to enter an expensive treatment program to curb her aggressive behavior.

Stapleton would chronicle her family’s struggles in a blog called "The Status Woe." In the most recent post, she said she was happy that Issy completed treatment but admitted to suffering from "a severe case of battle fatigue."

"I never once had any peace or rest. There was a constant (and very real threat) that funding would be pulled. It was not as exhausting as getting my ass kicked (literally) every day, but there was no time to lick my wounds while she was in treatment either."

With News Wire Services
mwalsh@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/michigan-mom-kill-autistic-teen-daughter-cops-article-1.1448694#ixzz2eFDGyOmT[/color]

Trial Set For Mom Charged With Trying To Kill Autistic Daughter

AP
Posted: 05/06/2014 2:40 pm EDT
Updated: 05/06/2014 2:59 pm EDT

BEULAH, Mich. (AP) — A judge has set a summer trial for a northern Michigan woman accused of trying to kill her autistic daughter with carbon monoxide.

Benzie County Judge James Batzer set the trial for July 16, although the date could change depending on his docket.

Kelli Stapleton is charged with attempted murder. She's accused of trying to kill herself and her 14-year-old daughter Isabelle by igniting charcoal in two grills inside a van last September.

Stapleton has been found mentally fit to stand trial. There's also another report on her state of mind at the time of the alleged crime, although her attorney is seeking another evaluation.

Stapleton regularly wrote about the difficulties of raising an autistic daughter on a blog called The Status Woe.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/06/kelli-stapleton_n_5275121.html

Lawyer can't drop case of Michigan mom accused of trying to kill autistic teen

August 27, 2014 at 11:36 pm
Associated Press


Stapleton (AP)

Beulah— A defense lawyer was ordered to stay on the case of a Michigan woman accused of trying to kill her autistic daughter, despite a “total breakdown” in their relationship.

Benzie County Judge James Batzer denied a request by Heidi Hodek to stop representing Kelli Stapleton, who goes to trial Sept. 3 in northern Michigan.

“If (Stapleton) wanted to fire the attorneys, she could. Otherwise he wasn’t letting them off the case,” Prosecutor Sara Swanson said Wednesday. “There was no indication she wanted them off the case.”

Hodek has been defending Stapleton with another lawyer from her firm.

Stapleton, 46, is accused of trying to kill herself and her teenage daughter last year with carbon monoxide by igniting charcoal grills inside a van. Isabelle, 14 at the time, has severe autism and sometimes had violent outbursts.

Stapleton’s blog had chronicled the challenges her family faced while caring for her.

In a court filing, Hodek said Stapleton has “become increasingly hostile” and has accused the lawyer of “not having her interests at heart.”

Letters written by Stapleton with inaccurate information have been seized by jail staff and are potentially damaging to her defense, Hodek said.

“There has been a complete and total breakdown in the attorney-client relationship in this case,” said Hodek, who added that she can’t provide “detached and objective legal advice.”

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140827/METRO06/308270033#ixzz3BnGepWF6

Mom Accused Of Trying To Kill Autistic Daughter Pleads Guilty To Child Abuse


 
Posted:  09/02/2014 1:01 pm EDT    Updated:  4 hours ago




 

BEULAH, Mich. (AP) -- A northern Michigan woman accused of trying to kill her autistic daughter has pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse.

Benzie County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Tang-Anderson says Kelli Stapleton entered the plea Tuesday morning. Stapleton had been scheduled to go on trial Wednesday on a charge of attempted murder.

Tang-Anderson says no sentencing date was set. The maximum punishment for the charge is life in prison.

The 46-year-old Stapleton is accused of trying to kill herself and her teenage daughter last year by carbon monoxide poisoning by igniting charcoal grills inside a van.

Isabelle was 14 at the time. She has severe autism and sometimes has violent outbursts.

Stapleton's blog had chronicled the challenges her family faced while caring for her.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/02/autistic-daughter-child-abuse_n_5753514.html