High court upholds conviction of woman in girl's water death
In October 2005, a jury found 32-year-old Jennete Killpack guilty of child abuse homicide and acquitted her husband Richard, 40, in the June 9, 2005, death of the couple's daughter, Cassandra. Killpack received a sentence of one to 15 years in prison but appealed the ruling, raising five issues, including arguments that the jury was not properly instructed and the court should not have admitted evidence detailing Killpack's history of abusing Cassandra.
According to an opinion handed down by Utah Supreme Court Associate Chief Matthew Durrant, the justices unanimously upheld the lower court's ruling against Killpack.
"Killpack's prior treatment of Cassandra included episodes of choking, hitting and force-feeding, some of which resulted in serious injury to Cassandra," Durrant wrote in his opinion. "These incidents all tend to establish that Killpack had a specific pattern of disregarding substantial and unjustifiable risks of harm to her child, and thus her final act of forcing Cassandra to ingest an excessive amount of water was not an accident."
The Killpacks refused and started taking Cassandra to the Cascade Center for Family Growth in Orem. The Killpacks contend therapists there suggested they read a book that promotes "adverse therapy" — treatment that asserts a child's misbehavior can be cured by repeating a particular misbehavior "in excess."
Killpack responded to Cassandra's misbehavior by "severely disciplining" the child, including hitting her with a metal spoon, backhanding her, choking her because she would not eat, force-feeding her, biting her and forcing her to drink water until "she spit up and urinated uncontrollably."
On June 9, 2005, Killpack caught Cassandra stealing a drink of Kool-Aid from her adopted sister, and Killpack forced Cassandra to drink water until she refused to drink any more. Then Killpack tied her hands behind her and forced her to continue drinking. Richard came home and his wife had him hold Cassandra's arms while she forced more water down the girl's throat.
The Killpacks then made Cassandra do exercise, including running, jumping and sit-ups. The child vomited and said she couldn't keep her legs from shaking and her head hurt. She later collapsed. Richard called 911, and emergency medical workers found Cassandra unconscious with a distended stomach and pink foam frothing from her mouth.
Recent comments
Okay Oracle, she didn't have very good coping skills? Neither...
Facts are facts | July 24, 2008 at 1:31 p.m.
Their is NO EXCUSE WHATSOEVER to do this to a child! Being frusterated...
Hello? | July 24, 2008 at 1:21 p.m.
Its always easy to pass judgment and condemnation when you don'...
oracle | July 23, 2008 at 10:58 p.m.
