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."
My daughter is 7 and is sometimes morbidly obsessed with death. We are completely “normal” people and cover the issue of death in age appropriate manner. Some people are simply different and have been since the womb.
I thought my sister and I were the only kids dumb enough to try that stunt.
P.S. the landing is no softer if you are wearing a cape either.
“No truly loved child entertains suicide at that age.”
I don’t think that’s true.
What is not infomercial time on my cable TV is mainly murder, suicide, and other such 'blood' drama. Not hard for any child to be exposed to either the concept nor the methodology, in fact, it takes paying attention to avoid giving them a nightly dose of slaughter.
I think it is absolutely true
I’m not buying it either. Most six year olds can’t tie knots by themselves, and need help fastening their belts. Not to mention needing help tying the laces on their shoes.
Also, most normal six year olds wouldn’t climb into a baby crib willingly. They usually transition to sleeping in a bed before that age. And if a six year old was using a crib as a hiding place, they would most likely hide under the crib, not inside it.
No, I suspect what happened is the poor girl was sent to the crib as punishment. Someone must have tied her inside the crib with a belt around the neck to keep her inside the crib... and as she tried to escape the crib, she accidentally hung herself. This is not likely a suicide. Samantha Kuberski, six years old, was murdered accidentally, either by her parents or perhaps one of her siblings. This is definitely a murder case.
Or, a kook suggested it to her
Geeze...when I was 7 the only two things that meant anything to me was if my mother was fixing lima beans for supper and when the next cowboy show was on the tube.Either I was exceptionally stupid or your daughter is exceptionally "deep".
You don’t know everything, FRiend.
Could it be someone smothered her with a pillow, THEN hanged her there?
Losing friends or relatives at an early age.
She’s just a very unique person— and I assure you I am not saying that out of some sense of misguided pride. She’s been interested in the concept of death since she was about 4. She’s interested in diseases, mummification, mythology and the afterlife. BUT— she’s also interested in animals, Pokemon, toys and video games. So there’s some balance there!
I'm not so sure. Maybe she did not realize the result, but kids emulate what they see often, and often without understanding it. Ours were all putting their movies into the VCR at two, and initially picked up certain emphatic phrases without knowing their meaning (which they had to be untaught--my bad). Little 'pitchers' have big ears, and all that.
I would not be quick to discard other possibilites, either, but children absorb an incredible amount, even if they don't completely understand the far-reaching consequences of their actions.
I was aware of it as early as two. I also knew right from wrong at an early age. Anyone else?
Quite frankly, I find that hard to believe .
Most people don't even remember anything except for a few small memories from their very early years.
Maybe you were an exceptional child ?
Kids that age don;t commit suicide
Mom & Dad need some more questioning.
In the movie the suicide attempts didn’t succeed, so kids may have deemed it a suitable gesture to elicit sympathy not thinking it might actually kill.
The youngest of the Addams family would say, "Just wait".
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