Iowa Mom Gets Life for Slitting Son's Throat

Kehoe banned from contacting son who survived attack
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 16, 2009 3:35 AM CST
Iowa Mom Gets Life for Slitting Son's Throat
Michelle Kehoe enters the courtroom during the opening day of her trial at the Grundy County Courthouse in Grundy Center, Iowa. Kehoe was found guilty of first-degree murder.   (AP Photo/Matthew Putney, Pool)

An Iowa mother has been sentenced to life without parole for slitting her 2-year-old son's throat and leaving him to die. Michelle Kehoe, who expressed profound regret in court, also slashed her 7-year-old son's throat before attempting to kill herself. He survived and testified against his mother. A jury rejected her defense of insanity last month and found her guilty of first-degree murder, the Press Citizen reports.

The judge extended a court-ordered ban on Kehoe contacting her surviving son, Sean, against her husband's wishes. "I think that forgiveness is in order for Michelle here. This incident is a result of profound mental illness—something that this system does not seem to recognize," husband Gene Kehoe told the court. “Not only has Sean lost his brother, but he has lost his mother. I have lost my wife and best friend.” The judge denied Kehoe's request to hug his wife one last time before prison.
(More child murder stories.)

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