Mother in VT Takes Her Own Life and Her Children
By Marie Anne
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
United States
April 14, 2008 10:03am CST
You know, there were several places I could have put this, but I chose 'family' because that's what it's all about.
[i]WARDSBORO -- A woman waded into the white water in the Wardsboro Brook Saturday morning with her 6-year-old daughter, purposely eluding the grasp of a would-be rescuer before being swept downriver, where her 2 1/2-year-old daughter's body was also found Sunday.
Police are investigating what led a Wolcott woman to enter the treacherous water Saturday morning with her 6-year-old daughter, killing them both.
Emergency workers found the bodies of Nicole Waring, 40, of Wolcott, and her daughter, Dakota, Saturday and continued searching Sunday for Waring's 2-1/2-year-old
daughter, Grace. [/i]
Full story here: http://www.reformer.com/headlines/ci_8917061
This is so, so sad. What could that mother have been going through to make her want to do something like that?
Were there any signs? Was she mentally ill? Going through traumatic issues with the children's father?
I can't even imagine what kind of hell that woman was going through to possess her to do that, and take her children's lives as well.
How do you feel when you read something like this? Sadness? Outrage?
4 people like this
13 responses
@roberten (3128)
• United States
14 Apr 08
Evidently the mother had mental issues that contibuted to her taking her life and the lives of her children. It is a very sad story but not uncommon these days. It makes me feel sad every time I hear a story such as this but sadly I feel we will be hearing more as time goes by.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
14 Apr 08
It is sad, and yes, seems to be more common now.
I wonder if it is really happening more frequently, or if we just hear about it more with the advent of the internet, etc?
@shewolf52002 (1214)
• United States
15 Apr 08
I feel outrage and sadness. It is hard to parent today, society would rather punish a mother with problems than actually help them. There is a stigma that says how can you not be a good mom or love being a mom? You know? No excuse really for taking the lives of children though.
I did research a few years ago in college on the rise in mothers killing their children and it actually has been going on for centuries with about the same frequency. In ancient times they would sacrifice them in firey pits to the god molech. We just hear more about it now.
@rogue13xmen13 (14403)
• United States
14 Apr 08
I feel like it is an outrage when women do this. There is always, ALWAYS, help for women who are going through a rough time. If you are mentally ill, get someone to take care of your children for awhile, check yourself into the Psychiatric Ward of your local hospital and get help! Do not wait until it is too late and then something like this happens. If you can see the warning signs, get help before things get worse. There are doctors and people out there who want to help people in these kinds of situations. Also, go see your doctor every now and then to actually make sure that if there is a problem that it is treated. I see my doctor at least once or twice a month if I can to make sure that there is nothing wrong with me. I have Asthma, Allergies, four skin disorders, and a few other problems that have to be taken care of every now and then. If you can get to the doctor, then go. In Los Angeles, and in some other cities as well, there are free clinics for people who do not have health care. Again, they can help.
@rogue13xmen13 (14403)
• United States
15 Apr 08
Well, if your thoughts are unusual, should that not tell you something? I mean she had to have had these thoughts for a long time before she acted upon them, and to think in a way that you would not normally think should tell her that is not normal.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
14 Apr 08
What about those that are ill and don't realize it?
That is part of the big problem!
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
18 Apr 08
when I hear stories like that, I also shake my head. What would cause a woman to take her own life and that of her children. I all I can see is either serious depression or complete insanity. I wonder what has made the woman so depressed, so desperate to do an act such as this.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
18 Apr 08
I can't imagine either what may have pushed her to that limit, and we'll never know.
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
14 Apr 08
I find it so sad, 
that someone would be in such distress that they felt they had no where else to turn..
that someone would be in such distress that they felt they had no where else to turn..@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
14 Apr 08
That is hard to say, I would hope I wouldn't even if I had no support..but some people are weaker and sometimes even with someone to turn to, they still loss it..
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
14 Apr 08
Exactly.
I've been in some extremely emotional and stressful situations where I thought I couldn't take anymore. I wonder if any of us could ever be 'pushed' to that level.
1 person likes this
@koalatbs (2229)
• United States
16 Apr 08
I had not heard about this story until just reading it now in your post Ldyjarhead. As you said, it is extremely sad. Those poor children... what they must have been thinking and their terror through the whole ordeal until their untimely deaths at the hands of their mom in the river. When I read something like this I mainly feel very sad. I'm glad she took her own life too, as sometimes when I read or hear about other stories where the parent killed their children but not themselves, it makes me very mad. How dare they?!! I remember a few years ago several such stories in the news. Like the one where the mother drowned her children in the car and another where the mother drowned all her children in the bathtub one by one. I think she had about 4 children. Some of these mothers I think are psychotic and the one like you just mentioned sounds like she was trying to escape from something that she felt powerless against. I don't know. But, I feel so bad for the children and their extended family members. Having to go through this must be just horrible.
@toosh21 (800)
• Australia
16 Apr 08
This is a terrible thing to happen and nobody will ever know what led her to do it. I myself don't understand how anyone could ever take the lives of their children (or themselves for that matter) - there is always help somewhere & this is totally uncalled for. It makes me so sad to think that some people think this is the only way to deal with things.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
16 Apr 08
Yes, help is available, but not everyone is in the right frame of mind to even consider help. They perceive no other way out.
I'm not condoning by any means, just feel very, very sad that it had to come to this.
@minnie_98214 (10557)
• United States
14 Apr 08
A while back a woman jumped off a bridge with her kids into a river her in minnesota. And of course when it was all done she blamed post partum depression. I beleive this is a tough thing to deal with but there are ways to get help. I beleive they should be punished even if they are depressed its no excuse to murder.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
14 Apr 08
I remember hearing about that incident.
Yes, there are ways to get help, but not everyone that needs that help is in the right state of mind to go find it.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
14 Apr 08
It is hard to know what was so terrible in her life that she felt she had to kill herself and her to children. She may have been mentally ill or in a fuge state where she did not really know what she was doing. How could any mother want to kill a six year old and a two and a half year old baby? I am so angry and so sad too.Poorlittlekids they were just starting out. If her problem was financial why didn't she seek help? So many questions and no answers.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
14 Apr 08
You feel much the same way I do.
And we'll never know ...
@above31rubies (1863)
• United States
14 Apr 08
Very profound sadness for the mother, the kids and the family. That is what I feel. Based on what the article says, which we all know is rarely the whole truth nor nothing but the truth, it sure sounds like some sort of cataclysmic event to a mental/emotional issue of some sort. How sad.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
14 Apr 08
That's what I was thinking. It doesn't say anything about her having an ongoing mental illness, it does say that she was acting odd the last few days or somesuch.
Either way, it's heartbreaking to think of the pain she was experiencing, and what her children went through as a result.
@fiona08 (454)
• United States
15 Apr 08
This story and all the ones like it make me incredibly sad. Mental illness is not something that is treated the way it should be. People attach a stigma to it that makes it hard for family members and friends to admit there is a problem. Those who are sick in the first place, are not thinking logically about where to turn for help. We need to work on our way of thinking about mental illness. It is like any other illness. We need to see to it that people receive the care they need. Many types of mental illness can be treated successfully, and the survivors can lead productive, fulfilling lives. People need to have access to mental healthcare whether or not they have money. And we as a society need to remember there is no shame in mental illness, anymore than there is in heart disease or diabetes. These people need our help, not our judgement. It is horribly tragic that this woman took her own life, and the lives of two innocent babies. If someone had seen the problem early on and gave her the help she needed, she may have gone on being the loving mother she set out to be.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
15 Apr 08
Thank you, Fiona! I couldn't have said this better myself.
There is no way of knowing whether she sought help, or anyone noticed and did try to help her in the case of this particular woman, but your comments are absolutely true as a general issue.
@wiser2 (237)
• United States
15 Apr 08
This just so sad.I would say she a lot going on in her life to do something like that.It is sad that no one seen it coming or had any idea that there was something wrong going on.Just awfull.
@leocatubig (409)
• Philippines
15 Apr 08
What A Mother she is....
How bad she took also the lives of her children...
I'm very sad for her kids .................
THEIR FUTURES ARE NOW DESTROY BECAUSE OF HER....
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
15 Apr 08
I think it's very sad, and believe it had to be something pretty horrible for her to resort to this.
@klabenes (3)
• United States
14 Apr 08
I feel sadness.You don't know what the mother was going throught but, if she didn't want her kids she could've gave them to relatives or someone that would take care of them. I don't understand how people can do this to their children, I mean there are millions of people who can't have children and would love them and then you have the one's who go and drown them. I don't understand it, they need help. It's so sad when parents or family take the lives of others for no reason.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
14 Apr 08
I agree it is very sad, and there is no way to know what was going through her mind as she was doing this.
