Jaded
March 17th, 2009, 03:22 AM
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A Savannah woman has been jailed on charges she shot her 11-year-old daughter as the child lay asleep in bed early Monday morning.
The youth, shot once in her torso, was taken to Memorial University Medical Center in critical but stable condition, according to Savannah-Chatham police. The accused mother, Mary Elizabeth Frazier, 35, faces a felony aggravated assault charge.
The Savannah Morning News has chosen not to reveal the child's identity.
Frazier, who police say has a history of mental illness, stands accused of opening fire on the child at 907 Rockefeller St. shortly before 7 a.m., police said.
A neighbor had called authorities, thinking "a burglar had come in the house, and (Frazier) accidentally shot the child instead of the burglar," said Judy Pal, metro police spokeswoman. "But there was no burglar and no accident."
A handgun, which police say Frazier previously purchased, was recovered at the duplex, Pal said.
Both mother and daughter were taken to Memorial, Pal said, and after being evaluated, Frazier was taken to the Chatham County jail.
Pal said police were meeting with the county district attorney's office and Department of Family and Children Services "to determine if jail is the right place for her at this point."
No plausible reason for the shooting has been established, which is not uncommon in such cases, Pal said.
"When you're looking at someone with a history of mental illness," Pal said, "a lot of times you'll never establish a motive."
Prior problems
Monday's shooting was the second occasion this month in which metro police reported bizarre behavior at the home.
On March 1, according to police documents, Frazier complained to authorities that her boyfriend, identified as Marlon Angelo Houston, 40, was letting outsiders into the daughter's room.
The claims were unsubstantiated, and Houston told police that on Feb. 28, Frazier had attacked him with a butcher knife as he slept, according to the police report.
Houston said he was struck in the face during the attack, and police reported his lip was swollen.
Frazier admitted to the attack, according to the police report, but no arrest was made because of the time lapse and Houston's unwillingness to press charges, according to the police report.
Teenage son had drowned
In June 2007, metro police reported that Frazier's son, identified as Devon Frazier, 16, drowned in the Ogeechee River near the King's Ferry boat ramp.
The boy, who couldn't swim and suffered from epilepsy, had "submerged under the water and not surfaced," according to a police report of the incident.
Houston, identified as Devon Frazier's stepfather in the report, had been playing with the youngster inside a marked swim area when the boy, who was not wearing a life jacket, got outside the roped-off area and was dragged under the water, police said at the time.
A day later, the body surfaced a few yards from where he went under, according to police.
Questions linger
At Rockefeller Street on Monday, hours after the shooting, carefree children skipped along the eastside Savannah neighborhood, lined with churches and a few blocks from Hubert Middle School.
Mary Elizabeth Frazier "is a nice person," said Luann Simmons, a mother of three children who lives in the 800 block of Rockefeller. "I've never had a problem with her - she's a good mom and never bothered anybody. She stayed to herself."
Simmons said she frequently exchanged pleasantries and remarks on the weather or rising water bills with the accused mother.
Simmons never foresaw any impending acts of aggression, she said.
Richard Anfield, whose daughter lives two doors down from the crime scene, crossed his arms as he expressed a question that lingered late Monday.
"I can't understand how she would wind up with a gun," he said, "especially with her mental problems.
"Something had to be wrong with her to shoot her own child - I couldn't shoot someone else's child, let alone mine."
http://savannahnow.com/node/689977
A Savannah woman has been jailed on charges she shot her 11-year-old daughter as the child lay asleep in bed early Monday morning.
The youth, shot once in her torso, was taken to Memorial University Medical Center in critical but stable condition, according to Savannah-Chatham police. The accused mother, Mary Elizabeth Frazier, 35, faces a felony aggravated assault charge.
The Savannah Morning News has chosen not to reveal the child's identity.
Frazier, who police say has a history of mental illness, stands accused of opening fire on the child at 907 Rockefeller St. shortly before 7 a.m., police said.
A neighbor had called authorities, thinking "a burglar had come in the house, and (Frazier) accidentally shot the child instead of the burglar," said Judy Pal, metro police spokeswoman. "But there was no burglar and no accident."
A handgun, which police say Frazier previously purchased, was recovered at the duplex, Pal said.
Both mother and daughter were taken to Memorial, Pal said, and after being evaluated, Frazier was taken to the Chatham County jail.
Pal said police were meeting with the county district attorney's office and Department of Family and Children Services "to determine if jail is the right place for her at this point."
No plausible reason for the shooting has been established, which is not uncommon in such cases, Pal said.
"When you're looking at someone with a history of mental illness," Pal said, "a lot of times you'll never establish a motive."
Prior problems
Monday's shooting was the second occasion this month in which metro police reported bizarre behavior at the home.
On March 1, according to police documents, Frazier complained to authorities that her boyfriend, identified as Marlon Angelo Houston, 40, was letting outsiders into the daughter's room.
The claims were unsubstantiated, and Houston told police that on Feb. 28, Frazier had attacked him with a butcher knife as he slept, according to the police report.
Houston said he was struck in the face during the attack, and police reported his lip was swollen.
Frazier admitted to the attack, according to the police report, but no arrest was made because of the time lapse and Houston's unwillingness to press charges, according to the police report.
Teenage son had drowned
In June 2007, metro police reported that Frazier's son, identified as Devon Frazier, 16, drowned in the Ogeechee River near the King's Ferry boat ramp.
The boy, who couldn't swim and suffered from epilepsy, had "submerged under the water and not surfaced," according to a police report of the incident.
Houston, identified as Devon Frazier's stepfather in the report, had been playing with the youngster inside a marked swim area when the boy, who was not wearing a life jacket, got outside the roped-off area and was dragged under the water, police said at the time.
A day later, the body surfaced a few yards from where he went under, according to police.
Questions linger
At Rockefeller Street on Monday, hours after the shooting, carefree children skipped along the eastside Savannah neighborhood, lined with churches and a few blocks from Hubert Middle School.
Mary Elizabeth Frazier "is a nice person," said Luann Simmons, a mother of three children who lives in the 800 block of Rockefeller. "I've never had a problem with her - she's a good mom and never bothered anybody. She stayed to herself."
Simmons said she frequently exchanged pleasantries and remarks on the weather or rising water bills with the accused mother.
Simmons never foresaw any impending acts of aggression, she said.
Richard Anfield, whose daughter lives two doors down from the crime scene, crossed his arms as he expressed a question that lingered late Monday.
"I can't understand how she would wind up with a gun," he said, "especially with her mental problems.
"Something had to be wrong with her to shoot her own child - I couldn't shoot someone else's child, let alone mine."
http://savannahnow.com/node/689977