CANTON —
Jacqueline R. Stout didn’t want to die alone when she killed herself, so she drugged her two children, possibly with Kool-Aid laced with prescription pills, authorities say.
Stout and the children survived, and police have charged the 24-year-old mother with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of child endangering.
Canton police Lt. Scott Beard said Stout, of 811 15th St. NE, was arrested Thursday after her release from Mercy Medical Center.
Her children, ages 4 and 6, remain at Akron Children’s Hospital, but are out of intensive care, said Michael Vaccaro, legal counsel for the Stark County Department of Job and Family Services, which has taken emergency temporary custody of the children.
A hearing on the issue of scheduled for today in Stark County Family Court, and Job and Family Services’ court filing provides more details about the incident and the family.
TWO SUICIDE ATTEMPTS
The chain of events leading up to Wednesday’s incident started Monday, when Jacqueline Stout initially attempted suicide, according to the court filing. Her two children stayed with their father, Adam Stout, 25, of Plain Township, until she was released from the hospital on Wednesday.
Adam Stout — who is estranged from Jacqueline — drove her home and left her to care for the children when they got home from school, believing that she seemed all right, according to the court filing.
Adam Stout could not be reached Thursday for comment.
Just before 2 p.m., Stout sent her husband a text message stating that she was suicidal and had just tried to kill his children. He didn’t get the message right away, and Stout followed with a phone call a minute later stating that she had given the children a lot of medication, according to the court filing.
Adam Stout drove to his wife’s home and called 911. The children were sleeping and Jacqueline Stout was on a couch with a knife in her hand and had been cutting her arm, the filing said. All three were lethargic.
Jacqueline Stout was unable to tell hospital staff what medication she had taken or what she had given the children, but she also reported that “she had taken 60 pills of 16 different types of medication,” according to the court filing.
The 6-year-old boy said his mother had given him “more than four” pills that were “red, green and blue,” and had crushed the pills and put them into his Kool-Aid, according to the court filing.
The 4-year-old girl also reported drinking Kool-Aid given by her mother.
Vaccaro said the agency is still looking into the type and amount of medication involved, as well as the manner in which it was given to the children.
On Thursday, police and an investigative caseworker talked to Jacqueline Stout. She told them that she got into an argument with her husband, who told her “that he was leaving and she shouldn’t ever call him again,” according to the court filing.
Stout said she then wanted to kill herself, but didn’t want the children to know, so she gave them medication to make them go to sleep. “When questioned further, mother admitted that she wanted to kill the children so that they could ‘go with her’ when she died,” according to the court filing.
CHILDREN REMOVED LAST YEAR
This isn’t the family’s first involvement with Job and Family Services. In January 2010, the agency removed the children from the Stout home.
The main concerns in that case involved Adam Stout’s “severe mental health issues,” his attempt to kill himself with prescription medication in 2009 and concerns about violence in the home. They prompted the agency's involvement, according to court records.
The agency placed the children with relatives, but returned them to Jacqueline Stout in May on the condition that the family remain under the protective supervision of Job and Family Services. Adam Stout was no longer living in the home.
During the earlier case, a psychological evaluation revealed no concerns about Jacqueline Stout’s mental health, and didn’t indicate that she was having thoughts of suicide, Vaccaro said.
Stout followed the case plan, accepted the services offered to her and was able to reunite with her children, which is the goal in these types of cases, Vaccaro said. In December the agency ended its nearly year-long involvement with the family.
The agency had no further contact with the family until Wednesday, and had been unaware of Stout’s suicide attempt earlier in the week, Vaccaro said.
http://www.cantonrep.com/topstories/x1055385606/Canton-mom-charged-with-attempted-murderStout and the children survived, and police have charged the 24-year-old mother with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of child endangering.
Canton police Lt. Scott Beard said Stout, of 811 15th St. NE, was arrested Thursday after her release from Mercy Medical Center.
Her children, ages 4 and 6, remain at Akron Children’s Hospital, but are out of intensive care, said Michael Vaccaro, legal counsel for the Stark County Department of Job and Family Services, which has taken emergency temporary custody of the children.
A hearing on the issue of scheduled for today in Stark County Family Court, and Job and Family Services’ court filing provides more details about the incident and the family.
TWO SUICIDE ATTEMPTS
The chain of events leading up to Wednesday’s incident started Monday, when Jacqueline Stout initially attempted suicide, according to the court filing. Her two children stayed with their father, Adam Stout, 25, of Plain Township, until she was released from the hospital on Wednesday.
Adam Stout — who is estranged from Jacqueline — drove her home and left her to care for the children when they got home from school, believing that she seemed all right, according to the court filing.
Adam Stout could not be reached Thursday for comment.
Just before 2 p.m., Stout sent her husband a text message stating that she was suicidal and had just tried to kill his children. He didn’t get the message right away, and Stout followed with a phone call a minute later stating that she had given the children a lot of medication, according to the court filing.
Adam Stout drove to his wife’s home and called 911. The children were sleeping and Jacqueline Stout was on a couch with a knife in her hand and had been cutting her arm, the filing said. All three were lethargic.
Jacqueline Stout was unable to tell hospital staff what medication she had taken or what she had given the children, but she also reported that “she had taken 60 pills of 16 different types of medication,” according to the court filing.
The 6-year-old boy said his mother had given him “more than four” pills that were “red, green and blue,” and had crushed the pills and put them into his Kool-Aid, according to the court filing.
The 4-year-old girl also reported drinking Kool-Aid given by her mother.
Vaccaro said the agency is still looking into the type and amount of medication involved, as well as the manner in which it was given to the children.
On Thursday, police and an investigative caseworker talked to Jacqueline Stout. She told them that she got into an argument with her husband, who told her “that he was leaving and she shouldn’t ever call him again,” according to the court filing.
Stout said she then wanted to kill herself, but didn’t want the children to know, so she gave them medication to make them go to sleep. “When questioned further, mother admitted that she wanted to kill the children so that they could ‘go with her’ when she died,” according to the court filing.
CHILDREN REMOVED LAST YEAR
This isn’t the family’s first involvement with Job and Family Services. In January 2010, the agency removed the children from the Stout home.
The main concerns in that case involved Adam Stout’s “severe mental health issues,” his attempt to kill himself with prescription medication in 2009 and concerns about violence in the home. They prompted the agency's involvement, according to court records.
The agency placed the children with relatives, but returned them to Jacqueline Stout in May on the condition that the family remain under the protective supervision of Job and Family Services. Adam Stout was no longer living in the home.
During the earlier case, a psychological evaluation revealed no concerns about Jacqueline Stout’s mental health, and didn’t indicate that she was having thoughts of suicide, Vaccaro said.
Stout followed the case plan, accepted the services offered to her and was able to reunite with her children, which is the goal in these types of cases, Vaccaro said. In December the agency ended its nearly year-long involvement with the family.
The agency had no further contact with the family until Wednesday, and had been unaware of Stout’s suicide attempt earlier in the week, Vaccaro said.
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