Posted on 04/17/2002 7:16:42 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
| Bathtub killing of boy stuns village Hoosick Falls -- After Christine Wilhelm, 38, is accused of killing her 4-year-old son and trying to drown her 5-year-old, police and neighbors seek answers
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| By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer First published: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 |
| In a killing that has left this tightknit village stunned and searching for answers, a mother is accused of drowning her 4-year-old son in a bathtub and attempting to kill her other boy before the 5-year-old narrowly escaped death by running from her, police said. The 38-year-old mother, Christine Wilhelm, dialed 911 at 2 a.m. Tuesday and told a dispatcher what she had just done, according to investigators. The killing has left police in this village, which is nestled near the Vermont border in northeast Rensselaer County, to speculate about what led Wilhelm to allegedly do the unthinkable. Wilhelm's husband, Kenneth, a 38-year-old nurse at Albany Medical Center Hospital, was at work when the boy was drowned. An officer on the village's tiny police force was the first to arrive and found 4-year-old Luke Wilhelm dead in a bathtub filled with water. But investigators declined to release further details or say how his 5-year-old brother, Peter, managed to stay alive. Wilhelm was taken into custody and charged with murder and attempted murder Tuesday afternoon. Her oldest son was taken to Samaritan Hospital in Troy and treated for injuries related to the attack, police said. "He was the subject of an attempted drowning,'' State Police Lt. William Sprague said several minutes after Wilhelm was arraigned in Hoosick Falls Village Hall and sent to Rensselaer County Jail without bail. "I'm not going to get into the sequence of events.'' District Attorney Kenneth Bruno, who was in Hoosick Falls during the investigation, said the homicide is not being prosecuted as a potential death penalty case. One neighbor of Wilhelm's, who did not want to give their name, recalled hearing screams in the middle of the night just before police and emergency vehicles began flooding the block. But the person said it was difficult to tell whether the screams came from a small child or a woman. Another neighbor said he didn't hear any screams but one of the couple's dogs was barking frantically before police arrived. After leaving Samaritan Hospital, Kenneth Wilhelm and his son went to stay with relatives in the Capital Region. The father has been cooperating with investigators, police said. Christine Wilhelm was taken from her home to the village hall for questioning. She stayed there until mid-afternoon Tuesday, when she emerged handcuffed and already outfitted in jail clothes. Police declined to say what she was wearing when she was arrested or whether she made any statements to investigators. Wilhelm shielded her face from cameras and showed no emotion as she was led to a waiting State Police car and whisked to jail. Though police declined to offer a motive, some neighbors said Wilhelm, a stay-at-home mom, had gotten off to a rocky start in the community and seemed to be making more enemies than friends in the neighborhood. Much of the animosity stemmed from the Wilhelms owning five dogs that a few neighbors said barked a lot. The Wilhelm family -- Kenneth, Christine, Peter and 4-year-old Luke -- moved into their 19th-century brick home in September after coming to this area from Florida, where the couple met, neighbors said. They paid $79,000 for the historic-looking home and erected a large fence for their dogs. Christine Wilhelm made the neighborhood rounds with her boys shortly after they moved in, introducing themselves and trying to make acquaintances. In October, she organized a big Halloween bash for kids on the street. "It looked like she wanted friends,'' said Randy Schnoop, who lives across the street with his wife, Elaine. "She was a real friendly type.'' Brian Lampman, the local dog warden, said the Wilhelms told him they had adopted their dogs from animal shelters in Florida. They lived in a rural area in Florida where the barking wasn't a problem, neighbors said. "They stopped in here (at village hall) to see what the rules and regulations were,'' Lampman said. But the downtown visit went awry when one of the couple's dogs leaped out of the truck and briefly chased after the mayor, who was walking into the post office. Still, "They acted like decent people. They were conscientious and they wanted to know the local laws and we were trying to work out a reasonable solution,'' Lampman said. "They just said they moved out of Florida and they wanted to move into a country setting.'' On River Road, the dogs' barking began to bother some neighbors and one of them filed an official complaint. During a recent community event at the school, Christine Wilhelm told a neighbor that she was hurt after being introduced but then heckled by someone who recognized her as "the lady with the dogs,'' Schnoop said. Other than the tension created by the dogs, the Wilhelms settled into the neighborhood and their boys could regularly be seen playing in the 1.5-acre lot. A plastic, miniature basketball hoop stood near the driveway Tuesday and one neighbor said he brought his nephew over to play with the Wilhelms boys on occasion. The boys were well-mannered, clean and dressed appropriately at all times. The couple never openly fought and appeared happy, neighbors said. Rensselaer County Commissioner of Social Services John Beaudoin said no one from Child Protective Services or the Department of Social Services has had recent contact with the Wilhelm family. But he said he could neither confirm nor deny whether Child Protectives Services ever worked with the family. "It is a very tragic situation. We are doing our investigation as the State Police are doing their investigation,'' Beaudoin said, adding it is not unusual for Child Protective Services to do its own investigation in cases where there is another child in the house. On Monday afternoon, everything seemed fine when Christine Wilhelm walked across the street to speak with her neighbor. She wanted to know if the Schnoops would like to come by later for a social visit. But Schnoops said they were on their way to buy some shoes and declined. "She was good with her kids. ... I do believe she was looking for something and had nowhere to turn,'' Schnoop said, choking up slightly. "I'm heartsick. If me and my wife had just walked across the street yesterday ... that 4-year-old boy might be alive today. The signs were there and she was just asking us for help.'' Across the village Tuesday, from the bank to churches and pharmacies and over at town hall, most people were talking about the alleged murder in hushed tones. "It's too bad Hoosick Falls can't be in the news for something good,'' a bank teller said. Hoosick Falls Police Chief Cliff Ruschmeyer, whose department has three full-time officers, said the incident was especially chilling in a community where most people know one another's first names. "It's very shocking, very tough,'' the chief said. It's not the first time this village has seen a child allegedly murdered by a parent. In April 1997, an unemployed man shot to death his wife and two small children before killing himself. Kenneth Ogert, 36, who had a history of domestic abuse problems, committed the murder-suicide shortly after leaving his older brother's birthday party. Relatives found the body of Ogert and his wife, Sharon, along with their 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter in the couple's rented apartment. writer Cathy Woodruff contributed to this report |
What signs?????? she sounded normal from what I read...... any mother who is capable of killing her babies isn't going to be apeased by some afternoon visit from a neighbor.......get real people and stop looking for excuses already.
It's either pure evil or serious mental illness. It's also a tragedy.
LOL, good point.
Then, using a stream of water no larger than 6 drops/minute let that stream fill the pool to a depth of 6 inches higher than her nose, let her feel what her Son felt and see what her destiny has in store for her.
Leave her under the water for about a week - just to make sure. Maybe, a Shark will finish her off.
Crime Committed - Should Equal - Punishment Rendered. . .
Too bad she couldn't be tried in Texas.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to that poor little kid, his brother, family, and friends.
He was a nurse, he should have been there to revive his child and give his wife medication. Anyone with half a brain can see this is all his fault.
< /scarcasm >
Dead on my FRiend!
The penalty for drowning your own children in Texas is life with free medical and psychiatric care, free continuing education, free meals, and free room and board.
Shouldn't we at least hold off until he starts his speaking tour?
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