'Not in Her Right Mind' Mom Locks 5 Children in Closet

They are children, we are adults. Exactly what could a CHILD do to make and ADULT (someone who SHOULD have been ready for parenting, mature, and selfless enough to raise children) scream or strike them or kill them by locking them in a closet? Again, we are adults and they are children. Children who are learning their way - learning how to behave (and a child can only be expected to do what they have been shown, taught and encouraged to do - if a parent doesn't expect or model good behavior is it really fair to expect that from a child?). Grow up people and realize atfer one child that you can't handle it and then stop having children!!!! This is a sad story for the children involved - I have no sympathy for this "mother." She's a mentally ill and incompetent (and no, the two are not mutually exclusive) individual who KILLED her children. Lock her up forever...preferably in a closet so she can maybe understand what she did to her children.

Mommy_Raines:  I so hear you.  A few months later, my husband was deployed and left me alone with said two year old in freezing Fairbanks thousands of miles from family.  He was also active duty military. I was 26.  It was pretty rough.  Family support groups and joining any and every family/child group/support service on post helped me beyond measure.  Yet, I still had those feelings of being overwhlemed. My little guy stopped talking when his Daddy left and we had to go through some intense therapy.  I feel for all the military spouses in today's military forces because I've been there,  Hang in there!!  Yes, needing a little quiet is the antidote for being overwhelmed.

As for those little guys in that closet? So sad...

~Heather Murphy-Raines

I definitely don't know what it's like to be left alone with 5 kids, and I don't know how recent an immigrant she was, whether she had a support system here at all, but I do think she bears some responsibility for putting her kids in a closet and leaving for 10 HOURS.  That's not putting her kids in a room while she gets a breather.  That's not locking her kids in a room for their own safety while she remains in the home and able to rescue them in case of, say, fire.  While I can sympathize with how overwhelming this could be, this was NOT the way to handle it.

Unfortunately, I think many women who feel overwhelmed as mothers don't ask for help because they don't want to be seen as bad mothers. There's an expectation that mothers should be able to handle everything, solve every problem. Considering that it sounds like abuse and neglect were occurring even with two parents in the house, I don't think having the husband home would have saved those children. My single mom-- to say nothing of all the other great single moms out there-- somehow managed to raise us without killing us, even though she may have seriously considered it at times. I do agree that if you believe you see abuse/neglect taking place in your area, you should speak up, in whatever way you can. When people refuse to reach out and take action, no one should be surprised when things take a turn for the worse.

What would possess a person to do this. Why would anyone think this is sane. What if the house caught on fire or something while she was off lolly gagging with the neighbors. I think this is terrible.

this happened in my hometown. this is why i moved. so many horrible tragedies like this happen everyday. her surviving seven year old said she had done that before. she went to talk to her friends even though she knew two of her children were dead. she starved them too. neighbors said the children would go around the apartment complex begging for food. i don't care how stressed any mom is there is no excuse to lock a child in a closet with a mattress in front for hours without food. she needs to rot in prison for the rest of her life. i'm glad her surviving children will have a better life. it's sad that this happened to innocent children.

There is no excuse. Stressed and alone with 5 kids or not. I have - on a very few occasions- put my kids in a crib or the older one in is room for several MINUTES when I could not handle the temper tantrums, but 10 hours in a closet- no excuse!

I'm sorry. I used to take care of 5 kids (ages 0 to 6) when I was alone at age 15. Granted, not for 2 weeks straight, but come on. I am a single mom with 2 kids who are now going on 4yo. Yeah, there have been times when I've "felt it coming on" and I tell my kids to sit in their beds, or sometimes I even holler. I might think it over and decide someone needs a solid whack on the butt. But it doesn't matter how enraged or overwhelmed I am - I always get over myeself within minutes. Ten hours? This person needs a full psychological work-up, and if they don't come up with a pretty serious illness, she needs to go to jail for a long time. Poor kids. ... Just thinking how yesterday, I got on my ~4yo for not being compassionate enough to want to hurry for her sister who needed to go potty. Can't imagine how adults can be cruel enough to intentionally leave a kid where he can't take care of his basic needs.

Yeah, seriously, being stressed out, with one kid or five, doesn't give you a right to lock them in a closet. I can't believe I even have to SAY that sentence. What the fuck is wrong with people anymore? I have an almost two year old and I am pregnant. Needless to say, he has had several meltdowns at the grocery store, Walmart, the park, you name it- sometimes to the point where he just gets down on the ground kicking and screaming, trying to bite me- YEAH. They are TODDLERS. CHILDREN. They are frustrated often and trying to assert independence for the first time in their little lives. No, I am sorry, but I cannot imagine EVER being so mentally fucked that I lock my kids in a closet. No. She needs to be sterilized and locked up for the rest of her life.