Posted on 08/27/2002 5:47:49 AM PDT by CholeraJoe
Augusta kids killed
By CAROLYNN BRIGHT, IR Staff Writer - 08/27/02
Swanson faces 2 counts of murder.
A 46-year-old Augusta mother allegedly shot and killed two of her four children as they slept in their beds at the family ranch about 15 miles southwest of Augusta early Monday.
Jeanette Swanson faces two counts of deliberate homicide in connection with the shootings and is being held in the Lewis and Clark County Jail without bond.
Swanson was placed on suicide watch at the jail Monday afternoon while the bodies of her children — a 10-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy — were brought to the State Crime Lab in Missoula, where an autopsy will be conducted, said Undersheriff Cheryl Liedle.
According to Liedle, emergency responders flocked to the Swanson Ranch just before 6 a.m. after Swanson called 911, reporting that she had shot her two children.
Swanson’s other two children — boys, ages 16 and 20 — were in the house at the time of the killing, but were unharmed in the incident.
Swanson’s husband, Gene, was sleeping in a camp trailer outside the residence when the shootings occurred, Liedle said.
According to reports, Swanson was waiting at the door of the residence when emergency crews arrived.
Her children were located in their beds inside — both were dead at the scene, Liedle said.
Liedle said a firearm believed to have been used in the shootings was recovered at the family home, but officials will await the results of the autopsies to determine whether it was, in fact, the murder weapon.
Court documents indicate that Swanson’s 20-year-old son reported to authorities that his mother had a .38 Smith and Wesson gun in her possession when she placed the 911 call, but Liedle would not confirm whether that was the same make of gun seized at the scene.
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Sam McCormack said Monday morning that a motive for the killings was sketchy.
However, he said that Swanson and her husband had argued last week about Swanson’s decision to enroll the two children in school in Augusta — Gene Swanson wanted his wife to continue to home school the kids on the ranch while she wanted them to attend public school.
The children attended their first classes at school in Augusta last week.
No, that's not what we're talking about. We're really talking about gov't interference in the rights of PARENTS. Parents have murdered their children. Were all those parents homeschoolers? Considering the small percentage of homeschoolers in this country, I sincerely doubt it, and I don't even have to look up the numbers.
There are public school teachers who should not teach, too.
In an earlier post I stated that homeschooling is not for everybody. You must be 'called' and have great commitment. Perhaps you missed that post.
Yeah, and I get pretty worked up about Lite-thinkers who haven't quite figured out that learning is a whole lot more than ABC's and knowing what 2 + 2 equals. I'll put my 20 year old daughter up against anyone you can come up with. She was taught by a mother who hated high school and barely made it out. The difference....my wife loves children and in the cradle of that love was born a daughter whose love for learning was nurtured and guided. By the time our daughter was in junior high, she was directing her own learning. By the time she was in her late teens, she no longer required us to teach her. She had gone beyond us.
Alright, allow me to try to get through to you this way:
I fully support working moms. Some working moms are whackos, nutjobs, and stupid people, and there's no one watching them to make sure they don't harm their children.
Now, tell me, does that sound like I really support working moms? ;-)
And, as a Freeper, you should know how words like "safety net" drive conservatives crazy. A couple years ago, I thought homeschooling sounded like a crazy idea, and I made the mistake of wondering aloud on a conservative forum: Who is watching them? Needless to say, the slamming I received taught me a very good lesson and helped lead me down the "Right road", so to speak. ;-)
Well, they'll have a pretty good case if they do. Gene's the one who wanted to home school .... easy for HIM to say.
But T of T... i NEVER thought it was a crazy idea and i said so from the start of this thread. it was not my POINT that the parents needed watching, i just attempted to distinguish the situation with a nutty teacher vs. a nutty homeschooling parent. i do not think i merited the slamming because i am a SUPPORTER and because i dared used a hot button word, i was attacked.
Homeschooling is a choice. It's a choice that needs the greatest of calling and commitment. It's not for everybody. I don't slam you for choosing another path for your children's education. I felt as though you were slamming homeschooling in general, based on untrue information.
I do not have a chip on my shoulder and don't posess an 'attitude' against non homeschoolers. I'll thank you to change your thoughts on this.
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