Texas woman finds son, 5, dead in oven

AP ^ | 4-17-04

[Indy Pendance]

BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) — The body of a 5-year-old boy was found in an oven at his home Friday, and his mother's boyfriend was charged with capital murder. The suspect, Kenneth Pierott, 27, previously had been found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1996 slaying of his handicapped sister.

Pierott was arraigned and jailed Friday night in the death of Tre-Deven Odoms.

The child's mother, Kathy Jo Odoms, found her son's body in the oven Friday morning, Justice of the Peace Paul Brown said. The burners on the stovetop were turned on, the oven was not, he said.

The boy had no visible injuries, Brown said. Autopsy results were expected Monday.

Odoms told police she woke up Friday morning because she was hot and smelled gas, The Beaumont Enterprise reported in its online edition Friday. She found the burners were on and turned them off. She discovered the boy's body after Pierott left the house.

Pierott spent six months in state mental hospitals beginning in 1998, after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the December 1996 beating death of his 25-year-old sister, who had cerebral palsy.

Court documents obtained by the Enterprise show Pierott hit his sister in the head with a metal dumbbell. He was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

[thegreatbeast]

Good Lord Jesus, what are you supposed to say?

[nmh]

Should have given him capital punishment the first time. Too bad you can't sue judges and jurors. They screwed up.

[Tamzee]

What a sickening, horrific story :-(

And WHY did he only spend 6 months in the mental hospital after beating his disabled sister to death?

[PurVirgo]

My God. That's just sick sick sick.

If the courts find someone NG by reason of Insanity, the defendant should by all means be institutionalized.

If they don't have the capacity of right vs. wrong, why do we trust them to roam the streets?????

[Indy Pendance]

I know, I really struggled with posting this one. But, this barbarian should have gotten the death sentence for killing his sister. This little boy would be alive if we actually prosecuted crimes, and not this reason of insanity crap.

[GeronL]

FRY HIM

[SiliconValleyGuy]

For some reason this reminds me of the news story I heard today of a convicted, confessed child molester who was released on appeal because he did not have the opportunity to face his accuser in the trial (his victim had committed suicide).

The justice system isn't any better than a crap shoot anymore.

[Bogey78O]

Insane people deserve the death penalty moreso than sane people. At least a sane person has a degree of predictability.

I don't want to be next to the "recovering mental patient" manning the powersaw when he has a relapse.

[jnarcus]

So glad that the state found it safe to release this nut case...And will the mother also be charged because why in the hell was she even associating with such a person let alone having him in her household...SOme parents don't deserve the children they get

[cherry]

"Too bad you can't sue judges and jurors"

what....and actually hold people accountable to their idiocy?.....

the recently completed Durst case in Texas is an example....

this guy admitted killing this other man (accidentally, of course) and slicing him up and throwing him in the water...

the jury came back and acquitted him...

now, post trial, one of the chief acquitters is visiting him in jail and befriending the murderer....

[Indy Pendance]

She may not have known his past. The government likes to keep these things quiet. (That's what I'm hoping, if she knew, then, she's as guilty as he is)

[SpyGuy]

In my opinion, "not guilty by reason of insanity" should only apply to cases of involuntary manslaughter (or lesser charges); never to cases of voluntary manslaughter or murder.

[Ann Archy]

What do we expect when God has been kicked out of this country and saying the name of Jesus is either laughed at or spit on.

Abortion....Divorce....Welfare....Atheists have killed our souls.

[Freedom4US]

Insanity in this instance is a legal term, not a medical one apparently. In my view it should be a valid legal defense. However - if the now institutionalized nutcase is ever deemed "cured", then they should go straight to prison, do not pass go, do not collect $200 and stuff kiddies into ovens.

This country is insane, it starts to make sense once you realize that.

[MEG33]

What every state including mine needs is a guilty but insane sentence.It should allow the state to hold them responsible for their crime with imprisonment, after they take their meds and are declared fit to leave the psychiatric hospital.

There is no guarantee that they will stay on the meds or that the meds will continue to work..Whatever drives the person to commit murder,they should be kept away from society.

[Keith in Iowa]

>>Good Lord Jesus, what are you supposed to say?

That the legal system needs a plea of "Guilty, but insane" and people who plead it get sent to the nut house until they're sane, then they go to prison.

[Moonman62]

I can't say much for the mother bringing this nutcase in the home with her child.

[Tamzee]

But OF COURSE you needed to post it... issues like this are one of the significant differences between the left and the right. It twists our stomachs but shows us that there is much more work to be done :-(

Thank you for all your posts, by the way... I'm often too busy to respond to threads but I'm always grateful to folks who post them and keep us all up on events.

[Indy Pendance]

"I'm often too busy to respond to threads but I'm always grateful to folks who post them and keep us all up on events."

Ditto that and thanks. When I have time, I post threads, but most of the time I'm reading, in between working and other things.