Christina Booth Slashed Her Children's Throats

[sugarfree irony]

OLYMPIA, Wash. - An Olympia mother has been arrested on attempted murder charges after her three young children suffered severe knife wounds to their necks, police said.

Christina Booth, 28, called 9-1-1 early Sunday morning after she tried to kill her 2-year-old daughter and 6-month-old twins with a knife while her husband was home, police said. The children were bleeding from their necks when officers arrived at the couple's home and found the children upstairs, police added.

Olympia police haven't said what prompted Sunday's attack.

"I know that something to prompt what investigators found inside this house went terribly wrong. What it is at this point, I just don’t know," said Olympia Police Lt. Jim Costa.

Booth and her husband were questioned by detectives, but police don't think he played any role in the attack, they said. He was released from custody and never placed under arrest, they added.

"I think that we need to rally and love to understand and not to judge. That's a horrifying event. That's horrible, but the worst thing the community can do is to start casting judgment on her."

The couple's 3 children went through surgery on Sunday, police said. As of early Sunday evening, they were still in the hospital and appeared to be stable, police added.

The children are being taken into protective custody.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/...children-suffer-wounds-to-neck-289721781.html

Really casting judgment is the worst thing ? Worse than slashing the kid's throats ?

 

[Krystal]

while her husband was home

How did she manage to slash all 3 children if he was home? Didn't they scream and alert him?

Ugh, I have a lot of questions.

 

[Jessiesgirl1108]

Army wife arrested after she 'slashed throats of her daughter, 2, and 6-month-old twins' after they wouldn't stop crying

• Christina Booth, 29, is charged with three counts of attempted murder
• She called 911 at 1.20am on Sunday and told dispatchers her children 'wouldn't stop crying'
• Her husband is a US Army soldier at nearby Joint Base Lewis-McChord
• He returned from a second deployment in Afghanistan shortly before his twins were born

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...2-6-month-old-twins-wouldn-t-stop-crying.html

 

[mybum62]

I suspect post partum depression or post partum psychosis played a role in this. There were noticeable changes around the time of the twins birth which continued to get worse. There were signs.

 

[BlueLover]

I'm just sorry she didn't get the help she needed before things got this bad. Sounded like all the red flags were there just no one to pay attention. This is truly sad.

 

[Jessiesgirl1108]

Army wife says she slashed throats of her three crying babies with kitchen knife to keep them from disturbing her Special Forces husband

[...]

Christina Booth, 29, suffers from postpartum depression and says she hit her 'breaking point' when all three of her young children started crying at once Sunday night when she tried to put them to bed after having two glasses of wine with husband Army Staff Sergeant Thomas Booth in Olympia, Washington.

[...]

Detectives wrote: 'Christina said she knew if she killed all of the kids, the house would be quiet for Thomas.'
'During the interview, Christina broke down crying several times, yelled about Thomas never helping with the kids and vomited once. Christina made the comment 'they will be quiet now' several times.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2927140/Police-Mother-accused-stabbing-3-kids-stressed.html

 

[Krystal]

Her thought process sounds, well, not as delusional as I thought it would. She tried to kill her children to keep from them disturbing her husband, and her. While not a sane line of thought it isn't really delusional.

When I think of delusional I think the demon voices and things like that not something like what she said.

 

[MC30]

oh good god. for real. i have ZERO ideas what his issues were, however, they seemed to affect her to the point where cutting their children's throats for them to be quiet. it could have been all in her head, or not. thank god they lived.

 

[ibutterflyaway]

This story is so sad. It kinda sounds to me in addition to the ppd she may have been a victim of domestic violence. He didn't help with the kids and she really, REALLY needed to keep them quiet. He may have terrorized her about the noise the kids make and she just lost her mind. Are the kids ok? I've read it twice but I also just got off a 14 hour shift and my own kids won't stop talking.

 

[rod2pop]

It does sound like part domestic situation, part something else. Doesn't excuse what she did, of course, but she does sound tormented. Still, it's attempted murder - but I wouldn't want to be judgmental and upset Lt. Costa.

Thank goodness the children are okay, but I suspect their home life is now fucked. Another group of children who won't have it easy in the days ahead.

Can't there be one fucking day when a child isn't harmed by anybody?

 

[Sevens My Charm]

This story is so sad. It kinda sounds to me in addition to the ppd she may have been a victim of domestic violence. He didn't help with the kids and she really, REALLY needed to keep them quiet. He may have terrorized her about the noise the kids make and she just lost her mind. Are the kids ok? I've read it twice but I also just got off a 14 hour shift and my own kids won't stop talking.

My ex was EXTREMELY abusive to me.. he loved the kids and did participate more than 'most' fathers.. HOWEVER.. a very quick way to get my ass beat or a hole in the wall.. let one of the kids cry.. for ANY reason at all.. my ex was airborne ranger and tried to blame that.. The amazing thing I have two parents, three grandparents, several aunts & uncles- friends who served long careers in the military- they didn't turn out like that. My dad- helicopter medic in Vietnam for crimanny- personal demons- drugs- NO violence!!

 

[thatsmallgrl]

December 14, 2016

Nearly two years later, Booth described that as the worst night of her life. In an emotional early Wednesday court hearing, testimony from the 30-year-old, her attorney and her adoptive mother told a story of early trauma and subsequent battles with post traumatic stress disorder and postpartum depression.

“I hate myself very much,” Booth said. “I’m disgusted with myself, I’m not going to forgive myself.”

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Mary Sue Wilson sentenced Booth to 14 years, 6 months in prison.

Public Defender Patrick O’Connor asked the court to consider prior events in Booth’s life, and to remember crime doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

Booth’s adoptive mother, Karla Petersen, told the court that Booth came to live with her at age 4. At that point, Booth already had endured several traumatic events.

When Booth was 2 years old, she witnessed the rape and murder of her biological mother, Peterson said. She was then placed in foster homes, where she was neglected and sexually abused.

Petersen said her daughter was diagnosed early with post traumatic stress disorder, and first suffered from postpartum depression as a teenage mother. Petersen raised Booth’s son, who is now 12 years old.

Booth eventually met her husband, Thomas Booth, and gave birth to their first daughter. Thomas Booth, who serves in the Army, deployed almost immediately. Christina Booth again began suffering from PTSD, Petersen said, but got help and spent a lot of time with family.

The twins were born prematurely because of pregnancy complications, and Christina Booth again suffered from PTSD, Petersen said. She started calling Petersen multiple times a day, and Petersen would drive to Olympia on weekends to help out.

Petersen said she was most worried that her daughter would harm herself — she never feared for the girls’ safety.

“I think she acted out of desperation that night,” Petersen said. “She became that scared little girl again.”

At Wednesday’s hearing, Thomas Booth described his wife as kind, sweet and loving. He said Christina Booth had never been violent before, and the events of Jan. 25, 2015, came as a shock.

He now has custody of the girls, who also spend time with Petersen at her home in Seattle. He said they’re doing well and that he plans to stay by his wife’s side.

Olympia Police officials said in January 2015 that Thomas Booth might have saved his daughters’ lives by performing first aid after they were cut.

O’Connor said his client’s battle with mental illness was exacerbated by her parenting alone so much. He said Thomas Booth left on long deployments, and that he was inattentive when he was home.

O’Connor described the Booths’ relationship as “stressful and strained.”

But rather than go to trial, Christina Booth pleaded guilty in September to one count of first-degree assault of a child while armed with a deadly weapon, and two counts of second-degree assault while armed with a deadly weapon. Juris said the reduced charges resulted from complex negotiations between himself and Public Defender Patrick O’Connor.

He argued that Christina Booth should receive the maximum sentence for the charges — 16 years, three months in prison — given that the reduced charges already would lead to a shorter sentence. Juris urged Wilson not to forget the victims: Christina Booth’s three daughters.

Juris said that while the girls have no lasting physical disabilities, the outcome could easily have been different.

“Just because she wasn’t successful doesn’t negate what it was,” Juris said. “It was vicious.

“They’re lucky they’re alive.”

O’Connor disagreed, and asked the court to consider Christina Booth’s history, mental health, lack of prior criminal history, and her remorse while sentencing her. He recommended a sentence at the low end of the range: 12 years, 9 months.

Wilson opted for a mid-range sentence of 14 years, six months. Christina Booth will serve 36 months of community custody upon her release, and is ordered to complete a mental health evaluation and any required treatment.

Wilson also ordered that Christina Booth have no contact with her daughters upon her release — but said that portion of the sentence could be reevaluated later.

Booth’s husband and adoptive mother asked the court to consider supervised visits with the girls in prison, but the prosecution disagreed. Juris said there’s no way to know what the lasting psychological effects are for the three girls, and for Christina Booth.

Petersen said she hopes Christina Booth will eventually have a relationship with her daughters, for the girls’ sakes.

“Christina’s definitely not evil,” Petersen said. “She really does care about the girls, she always asks how they’re doing.”

After two years of waiting, the prison sentence is almost a relief, she said.

http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/crime/article120974683.html

 

[Muriel Schwenck]

“Christina’s definitely not evil,” Petersen said. “She really does care about the girls, she always asks how they’re doing.”

That's great that she is aware of her actions. I believe she is twisted with remorse and agony. Good.
I hope her children don't remember the event, never see her again, or are made aware of it. They deserve a clean slate.
I hope she never breeds again. It's not worth the risk.
As for the father. He may have PTSD, but this family disaster may have happened no matter what. It might be his innate personality. He married a screwed up woman who couldn't handle drastic emotional hardship. Others with shitty upbringing or war time suffering struggled without attempted murder. Maybe neither parent wasn't capable no matter what. We will never know.
Neither parent should breed or be responsible for any more children until they figure out their own problems. Sadly, they will probably both breed again before they are able to control their"demons".

 

[JackBurton]

I don't understand why this monster should ever be let out of prison. If she's batshit enough to do it once, she could very well do it again.

Honestly the horrors of that night combined with the horrors and stress of a lengthy prison sentence sound like more tahn enough to tip her over the deep end again, exacerbate her PTSD issues. This woman is a ticking time bomb and the public needs to be protected from it.