Mother arrested following death of 5-yr-old AZ boy
March 23, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
Brandon Williams was 5 years old and autistic. He died on Wednesday night, March 21st; his mother, Diane L. Marsh, had given him 12 Tylenol PMs. When medics tried to revive him, they noticed signs of abuse on his wrists, ankles, and feet. As reported in today’s Arizona Star, Marsh told detectives that she gave him 4 or 5 sleeping twice a day, tied him up “to control him,” and beat him.
Peter Earhart, the president of the Autism Society of America’s Pima County chapter, said he understands that raising an autistic child can at times be frustrating. His autistic daughter sometimes presented him with challenges, he said.
But never, he said, could he understand how someone could drug or bind a child.
I’m not sure if I would wish to understand.
I know I don’t wish to understand.
That’s not controlling a child, that’s torture.
I hope the prosecuter’s good enough to get her a long prison sentence. Hopefully they can get enough witnesses to discount her “it’s just too hard to care for an autistic child” defense.
The scummy dad will probably get off scot free on this one. He abused one of her older children in the past. He hasn’t seen his son since September, and now comes out of the closet like an aggrieved father.
He may not have been the one directly abusing his son, but he sure wasn’t lifting a finger to ensure that he had the proper support and care, either.
From Kev’s and the original article, it sounds as if the whole family situation was abusive.
The more I read about this case, the worse it gets.
It is all too sad.
There is a big difference between “medicating” for the benefit of a child and “drugging” for the benefit of someone else. How awful.
If the child had a diagnosis of autism, ought a case manager or other social worker to have been following his case?
“If the child had a diagnosis of autism, ought a case manager or other social worker to have been following his case?”
Not necessarily. I have had a couple of students move in from out of state that didn’t know how to access – nor, in one case, even about – California’s Regional Center System.
Likewise, in my brother’s case, my parents went several years without hearing from them – he was assessed at an intake assessment when he was about 3, but no one checked up on him again until he was in high school and we sought help for problems we were having with his school. After that, they’ve been in regular contact.
I suppose I should say, yes, someone ought to have been following him — but if AZ’s bureaucracy is anything like CA’s, it’s quite possible they were not.
Thanks, Jennifer—-and I’m gathering from the article that Brandon was not in a regular preschool program where the physical abuse could have been noted.
I live in AZ. but have not read this story until now. My heart breaks for this little boy. How could people be so barbaric and cruel to a child? Sad, so very sad.
They had attempted to mainstream Brandon into my child’s kindergarten classroom this past fall. It was clear from Parent Night (before the school year started) that Brandon was at risk. The mother was at a complete loss as to how to handle his tremendous outbursts at that meeting. She was clearly losing control in front of us. I was relieved my child was not there to witness it – children were not supposed to have been at the meeting.
I know that CPS (Child Protective Services) was called during his short stay at my child’s school as well as during his short stay in a “self-contained” classroom in a different public school later that fall. It’s my understanding that he was suddenly removed from that self-contained classroom and that the school was not able to contact the family – they apparently moved.
One news article mentioned that a County Juvenile Court case involving Brandon was started in January. I don’t know anything about that. Wouldn’t CPS be aware of that case and therefore know where he was? CPS was clearly aware of the danger he was in. They were contacted by at least two schools and who knows how many concerned parents of Brandon’s classmates.
All I ever saw was parents, teachers and school staff trying at great length to help this child. I’m so angry that he was not removed from his horrible home. I’m so angry and so sick to my stomach I can’t see straight.
Still crying… and apparently still needing to vent,
Sara
Sara, thank you so much for writing about Brandon…. am feeling sad and more all over.
I never heard of this particular case before. Guess I was behind in my alerts and never got back to that email. What a sad outcome that should never have occurred.