A Carver, MA woman was found not guilty by reason of insanity in Brockton Superior Court in the 2005 murder of her 3 year old son. She was committed to a state facility for treatment of mental illness.
35 year old Helen Kirk was committed to Taunton State Hospital on Tuesday after waiving her right to a jury trial in Brockton Superior Court, and having the prosecutor's wishes granted to immediately commit her.
It was agreed that Kirk suffers from major mental illness, and because of it, she was deemed not responsible for her actions in the strangulation death of her three year old son, Justin. Kirk believed him to be the devil.
"This has just been a tragedy for everybody," said Plymouth District Attorney
Timothy Cruz. "There are no winners here. A little boy is gone and his mother is in an institution. There is devastation on both sides of the family."
According to the
Patriot Ledger, Kirk went into her son's room in March 2005, and after 'signs' told her that he was the devil, she strangled him. Twice in the early morning hours, Kirk reported to police by phone that she wasn't feeling well, the second call requesting an ambulance.
Kirk's husband, Joseph said he knew his wife had strange tendencies, but he didn’t realize she was mentally ill. The couple divorced in 2002. Mrs. Kirk retained custody of Justin and his older sister, Heather after the divorce.
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