Teen accused of suffocating baby with chili powder

[JayS]

June 4, 2004, 1:38AM
Teen accused of suffocating baby with chili powder
Associated Press
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2609231


DALLAS -- A 19-year-old mother accused of suffocating her baby with chili powder told police she got the idea off the Internet as a remedy for thumb sucking, according to court documents.

Angela DiSabella, of Irving, Texas, is charged with capital murder in the death of her 5-month-old daughter, Kira. DiSabella is being held under $750,000 bond at the Dallas County jail.

*SNIP*

The Dallas County Medical Examiner's office said Kira choked on chili powder. Medical officials said Kira's airway was clogged with the substance. A secondary cause of death was malnutrition.

*SNIP*

Social workers contacted Kira's father last week to set up an appointment after someone reported the baby was malnourished.

*SNIP*

[LibLabUK]

1. Hmm... this worries me.

"Social workers contacted Kira's father last week to set up an appointment after someone reported the baby was malnourished."

Shouldn't they have been a little more prooactive in checking up on the health of the child?

Could have averted the tragedy.

[Randall]

6. Piss poor parent

This woman is clearly a piss poor parent that shouldn't be having kids. It's only social services problem when they get called in, it isn't their problem to monitor every dumb parent out there that decides to have a kid.

[JayS]

9. We had another set of parents that wanted to be really...

...healthy and used salt substitute in place of salt with their baby. About 1/2 teaspoon is what they claimed to have used. The child died.

[NorthernSpy]

2. oh, man...

Let's see: thumb-sucking is bad because it supposedly can warp a kid's bite. Hence, supposably, this woman's attempt to deter her daughter from doing it. But does a 5-month-old even have teeth? Don't young babies normally suck their thumbs?

As hot as chili pepper is on the tongue, inhaling it is like inhaling fire. How can anyone think it reasonable to subject a kid to that kind of agony? I know nothing about babies, but I do know that some parents are astonishingly punitive toward their children.

Even so, I really wonder whether capital murder is the proper charge to bring, or whether the district attorney in this case might be indulging in a bit of politicking by pandering to public outrage. Reminds me of why direct elections of judicial officials are a bad idea.


Mary

[Massacure]

3. In my opinion,

Man slaughter is probably a better charge than murder.

[Randall]

4. How to punish?

How do you punish someone that is just too stupid to have kids? I think it should be legal for courts to order extremely bad parents to be surgically fixed, because if they've recklessly killed one kid, what says they won't kill or screw up another?

[Liberal Classic]

5. Eugenics still has its proponents, I see

What about the poor child who choked in the car window? Should those parents also be sterilized?

Did you hear about this:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/03/24/ctv.swinton/

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=8092141&BRD=1079&PAG=461&dept_id=506450&rfi=6

This is certianly beyond bad parenting and well into child abuse.

Should they be sterilized?

[LibLabUK]

7. What's a fascist doing posting on a progressive liberal board? n/t

[Spentastic]

8. This bit of the board

Does not really count apparently.

There was me thinking that not killing people was progressive. This place reedumacated me.

[MrSandman]

10. 2 of us...n/t

[testing123]

11. She should have given the baby up

If she didn't want her baby she should have taken her to the police station or hospital and told them that she wanted to give her up.

Seeing that it's Texas she might possibly get the death penalty.