Posted on 04/06/2010 3:43:44 PM PDT by LibWhacker
Six-year-old Samantha Kuberski was a happy kid who did well at school. Which is why tragedy was compounded by shock back in January, when medical examiners in Yamhill County, south of Portland, declared Samantha's death a suicide, making her the youngest person to take her own life in Oregon's history.
On December 2, the first-grader was allegedly sent to her room after getting in a fight with her mom. While her mother and three sisters were in other parts of their McMinnville house, Samatha reportedly crawled into an unused crib that had no mattress or box spring, tied a cordurouy belt around her neck and onto the crib's top railing and hung herself.
Samantha was found unconscious and rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. Her parents and siblings were later interviewed by police, who ruled out any foul play and said they found no signs that the young girl had ever been abused.
Now the only thing left to parse is what to call Samantha's tragic death. While the medical examiner has ruled it a suicide, detectives insist on calling it an accident, saying that a child that small could have no idea of the consequences of her actions, an argument backed up by adolescent psychiatrists like Dr. Kirk Wolfe.
"Most kids this age are not aware of what death actually is," he told the Yamhill Valley News-Register. "Not until they get to be 8, 9 and 10 do they understand death is final and you don't come back."
Man, six years old... I'm surprised it doesn't say 'the youngest person to take her own life in the history of the planet.' Can't conceive of anyone that young doing that.
Somehting is more than fishy
Constantly thought about it at that age
She had to have learned the behavior somewhere.
So sad. Prayers to her parents.
It’s true that six year olds have no concept of death.
My 6 year old is continually tying things around her neck and is told to cut it out. I think the kid was playing and paid the ultimate price for not having common sense.
Wow, Flav... sorry to hear that. HOpe things are better for you now.
Here in Dallas there was recently a 9-year old boy who killed himself because he was bullied at school.
These kinds of stories hit hard when you have kids that age.
The only thing I can think of is that this kid must have burdened with a tremendous sense of guilt. Some children are repeatedly told they are worthless, are bad kids always doing things wrong, and made to feel guilty for small transgressions or for even existing.
The family dynamics, how everyone in this family relates to one another, could be eye-opening.
Ever heard of Television? (not saying it is the fault of television)
1. If intentional, I wonder where she learned that?
2. When I was that old, I had no understanding that death was permanent. I thought it was like the RoadRunner cartoons where the coyote falls thousands of feet to his death and then is back chasing the bird mere seconds later.
So either the kid “committed suicide” but with no concept of what she was doing or she watched something on television and decided to act out the same way some children jump off rooftops to test their supposed ability to fly.
I had a pretty good concept of death when I was three.
Or someone killed her.
The roughest spanking my eldest daughter ever got was for tying something around her neck.
I think I broke the wooden spoon, in fact.
Happens that young every few years in Japan.
Bushido’s fault.
Movies TV etc....
The finality of death?
That has to be the case. No truly loved child entertains suicide at that age.
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