Karen McCarron
Karen Frank-McCarron, M.D. (born 20 December 1968) is a German-born American pathologist convicted of murdering her autistic daughter Katie. McCarron reportedly held anti-vaccination beliefs and believed that she was responsible for Katie's autism by having her vaccinated, viewing her death as a "mercy kill".
Biography
McCarron was born Karen Frank on 20 December 1968 in Germany. She married Paul McCarron and changed her last name to Frank-McCarron. Their daughter Katie was diagnosed with autism in 2004, which McCarron reportedly blamed herself for because she believed that the MMR vaccination Katie had received gave her autism. She also viewed Katie's autism as a burden (in spite of having hired two full-time carers for her) and wished to find a way to rid herself of it; prior to the murder she suggested institutionalizing her and putting her up for adoption.
On 13 May 2006, McCarron killed Katie by suffocating her with a plastic bag after she refused to go to sleep. She would later tell police she wanted to end the pain caused be her daughter's autism. Afterwards she went to the grocery and bought ice cream for herself. Several hours later she informed relatives of what she had done before attempting suicide with a Tylenol overdose. She was arrested and charged with murder, obstruction of justice and concealing a homicidal death.
After a week-long trial McCarron was convicted on all counts. She was sentenced to 36 years in prison followed by 30 months probation and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine. Her husband divorced her after her conviction citing her "extreme mental cruelty" and her parents successfully sued her for the return of money they had loaned her to pay her legal fees.
In 2010 McCarron lodged an appeal on the basis of ineffective counsel, but an Illinois appellate court upheld her conviction. In August 2011 she petitioned for a new trial citing her "religious delusions"; she claimed that she had believed Katie would be resurrected without autism by Jesus Christ. Her petition for a new trial was denied in November 2011.