McCarron Trial: Day 3

McCarron is accused of killing her three-year old autistic daughter Katie. McCarron's mother-in-law Gail also testified. Under oath, Gail said McCarron told her "I wish Katie was dead."

Defense Attorney Marc Wolf said "anything is possible" when asked if McCarron will take the stand.

The state is expected to rest Thursday.

From WHOI Channel 19 Peoria:

Witnesses say Karen Mccarron said
she wished her daughter was dead
before Kathryn McCarron died

Karen McCarron stopped calling her daughter -- who had autism -- by name in the months leading up to her death.

That's what witnesses who took the stand in the trial of the Morton woman accused of suffocating her 3-year-daughter Kathryn said Wednesday.

Testimony painted Karen McCarron as a cold woman who saw her daughter's autism as a problem.

Witnesses said Karen started calling her daughter kid instead of by name, and became more and more detached from her daughter.

Gale McCarron, Karen's mother-in-law took the stand and said Karen said multiple times that she wished Katie was dead.

Gale said Karen grew distant from family; she was colder and more rude in the months leading up to Katie's death.

The defense focused on the fact that Karen was seeing a psychiatrist and taking medication.

Grandmother testifies in McCarron murder trial

McCarron, 39, of Morton, a former pathologist is accused of suffocating her 3-year old autistic daughter, Katie, with a trash bag in her mother's home.

McCarron has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Frank testified that she arrived at the McCarron house early on the morning of the killing to help McCarron with her two young girls, Katie, and her younger sibling, Emily.

After arriving, Frank told Assistant State's Attorney Kirk Schoenbein that she noticed McCarron was not speaking much before leaving for work.

When McCarron left, Frank said the girls got up and ate breakfast. McCarron returned around noon that day.

McCarron then took Katie for a car ride after eating lunch, as she often did, to help the child fall asleep for a nap.

Schoenbein, in his opening statements on Monday, said it was at this time that McCarron took Katie to her mother's home just a few blocks away and suffocated the child with a trash bag.

McCarron's father, Robert Frank, was on vacation in Germany at the time.

According to Frank, McCarron returned about 1:30 p.m. carrying the young child in her arms as if she were sleeping. Frank said the child never made a sound after they arrived.

When asked by Schoenbein if McCarron told her that Katie had fallen asleep, Frank said yes and that she (McCarron) went upstairs and put the child to bed.

Shortly afterward, Walter Frank, McCarron's brother, arrived from Chicago to celebrate Mother's Day early.

Walter Frank testified that after looking at family photos with his sister and mother, he began working on McCarron's refrigerator because it was making a loud noise.

While Walter Frank was busy with the refrigerator, McCarron told him she was going out to get ice cream for everyone.

Schoenbein, in his opening statements, said this is when McCarron returned to her mother's home to retrieve the trash bag and then hide it in a gas station restroom.

McCarron returned home with the ice cream, then went upstairs, apparently to wake Katie.

Both Walter and Erna Frank said they then heard McCarron screaming as she brought the child down into the living room.

According to Erna Frank, McCarron began CPR as Walter Frank called 911.

Jurors heard that 911 call Tuesday as prosecutors played the recording in court. Walter Frank can be heard telling the 911 dispatcher about Katie and the address of the house. In the background McCarron is heard counting chest compressions while giving the child CPR.

Kurt Ellison, the responding Morton paramedic, testified that when he arrived at the house he noticed Katie's skin color was "ashy" and that she was not breathing.

Ellison, after asking McCarron about Katie's medical history, was informed that Katie had autism.

He then asked McCarron the same question moments later. She responded, "I told you once, don't you listen?"

Ellison said he asked the question to verify she wasn't forgetting anything.

Katie's autism

According to court records, Erna Frank told a grand jury in 2006, days after the crime, that McCarron was not dealing well with the stress of having an autistic child.

"She could not accept a child with autism," said the grandmother.

Erna Frank also told Schoenbein on Tuesday that Katie's diagnosis was rough on other family members as well.

"Everyone was devastated about finding out about the autism. We really didn't even know what autism was at the time."

Erna Frank said that McCarron's obsession with the disorder became evident after she began looking for information on autism.

"Every day she would be on the computer looking at news on autism, after coming home from work."

Mental health

Defense attorney Marc Wolfe said during his opening statements on Monday that McCarron's mental illness will be a big issue in the trial.

According to Erna Frank, depression was common in her family.

Erna Frank said that her husband, McCarron's father, suffered from bouts of depression after an accident that left nearly 25 percent of his body badly burned.

At the request of a psychologist, according to Erna Frank, Robert even received electrical shock treatment for depression and is currently on medication.

"I know she (McCarron) was sometimes depressed in college," said Erna Frank.

Paul McCarron, Karen McCarron's husband, testified on Monday that his wife was seeing a psychologist while she was a resident doctor at a medical clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

Karen McCarron began seeing her father's psychologist in Chicago prior to Katie's death in 2006.

From WAND Decatur:

Mother-in-law: McCarron wished daughter dead

Gail McCarron testified during the third day of Karen McCarron's murder trial in central Illinois. Karen McCarron of Morton has pleaded not-guilty by reason of insanity in the 2006 death of her daughter, Katie.

Gail McCarron says her daughter-in-law was very critical of the progress Katie made while at a special school for autistic children. She says Karen McCarron had asked her opinion about putting Katie in an institution and mention on multiple occasions in 2006 that she wished Katie was dead.

On Tuesday, Karen McCarron's father-in-law testified that she thought her life would be "perfect" without the girl.

Aunt: Mom accused of killing girl
embarrassed by autistic child

Jennifer McCarron testified during the third day of Karen McCarron's first-degree murder trial in central Illinois.

Karen McCarron of Morton has pleaded not-guilty by reason of insanity in the 2006 death of her daughter, Katie.

Jennifer McCarron told jurors that the girl's mother couldn't accept the fact that Katie had autism and said she wanted Katie to be "mainstream" by the time she reached kindergarten.

On Tuesday, Karen McCarron's father-in-law testified that she thought her life would be "perfect" without the girl.

Information from: Journal Star, http://pjstar.com

Witness: McCarron wished daughter was dead

"She said at least three to five times that I can recall, 'I really wish Katie were dead,'" McCarron's mother in-law, Gale McCarron, said during the third day of testimony in Karen McCarron's murder trialin Tazewell County Circuit Court.

She's accused of suffocating her 3-year-old daughter, Katherine "Katie" McCarron, with a plastic garbage bag.

Gale McCarron, Katie's grandmother, said Karen McCarron became very detached from the child in the months leading up to her May 13, 2006 death.

"She wouldn't even call (Katie) by her name toward the end. She would just call her 'the kid,'" she said.

Gale McCarron also told the jury Karen McCarron suggested institutionalizing the girl and said she would rather have a child with cancer than autism.

"Karen once said to me, 'If Katie had cancer, I could deal with it. But I'll never accept autism,'" Gale McCarron said.

During a telephone conversation with Karen McCarron, GaleMcCarron once asked how long Katie suffered after Karen McCarron, 39,of Morton wrapped the bag around the girl's head as she played with some toys.

"She said it was about two minutes," Gale McCarron said. "At one point, she said it was terrible."

Prosecutors say Karen McCarron also confessed to her husband, her mother, her father in-law, a friend from church and three times to police.

Attorneys Marc Wolfe and Steve Baker have entered a not guilty by reason of insanity defense for Karen McCarron, which says she committed the crime but shouldn't be held criminally responsible for it because of her mental state.

During cross-examination of witnesses, the defense repeatedly asked general questions that often steered clear of the crime.

All of the witnesses who knew Karen McCarron, a former pathologist who graduated from the Southern Illinois School of Medicine in Springfield, said she was a woman obsessed with curing her daughter's autism and was a perfectionist who would not accept the fact her daughter wasn't "indistinguishable" from her peers.

"It was embarrassing for her," said Jennifer McCarron, Katie's aunt. "She said she didn't want anyone saying her kid was slow."

Witnesses have said she constantly criticized her daughter's progress and the team of family members, therapists, teachers and care providers hired to help her.

They said the topic of every conversation with her revolved around curing Katie's autism. Negativity and hatefulness were ceaseless when she discussed the child, who they say she never hugged, kissed or praised after she was diagnosed with autism.

"She looked at Katie as a problem, and she got rid of her problem," Jennifer McCarron testified. "There's nothing more to it than that."

Thank you, Jason Piscia, online editor

DNA, prints connect McCarron to murder

The evidence was presented as Illinois State Police crime scene investigators testified for the state. Jurors also heard testimony from two of McCarron's family members.

McCarron, 39, of Morton, a former pathologist, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of obstructing justice and one count of concealment of a homicidal death after telling police she suffocated her 3-year-old daughter, Katherine "Katie" McCarron, with a plastic garbage bag.

Prosecutors say McCarron also confessed to her husband, her mother, her father-in-law, a friend from church and three times to police.

Witnesses have said McCarron showed no emotion and shed no tears after her daughter's death and spoke about it in a matter-of-fact manner before confessing.

McCarron confessed to suffocating the child with the trash bag, then taking the child's body back home and putting Katie to bed, as if she were asleep.

McCarron has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Assistant State's Attorney Kirk Schoenbein called Illinois State Police crime scene investigator Sgt. Monica Harms to testify.

Harms testified that in the early morning hours of May 14, 2006, the Morton Police Department contacted her in regard to investigating two areas suspected to be part of a murder scene.

Harms said she first arrived at the McCarron house, located at 390 E. Idlewood Drive, in Morton. While at the home, she began investigating the scene with fellow investigator Sgt. Michael Oyer.

During the investigation of McCarron's home, where Katie was found dead, Harms said that a Bible was found on the floor of the master bathroom upstairs.

The bathroom is where McCarron's husband, Paul, found Karen McCarron sitting on the floor shortly after attempting to comment suicide the same night she killed Katie.

Inside the Bible, Harms found a hand-written note from Karen McCarron, believed to have been written at the time the attempted suicide took place.

However, the contents of the letter were not released to the court.

Also found on the bathroom counter were several pills, later identified as Tylenol.

The two investigators then went to the home of McCarron's mother, Erna Frank, where Katie was killed. Frank's house is located just a few blocks away from the McCarron home. However, no physical evidence was found.

On May 15, Oyer was called to a local gas station where police believed McCarron hid the trash bag she used to kill Katie.

After searching through garbage in a large trash bin at the gas station, investigators found a white kitchen trash bag that met the description given by McCarron during a confession.

Ann Midden, an Illinois State Police crime lab technician, testified that she received the white trash bag at the Illinois State Police Crime Lab where it was analyzed for evidence.

According to Midden, a DNA substance was retrieved after she noticed possible teeth marks on the inside of the bag.

Illinois State Police forensic scientist Debra Minton testified she received the DNA from Midden in order to analyze the substance.

After receiving a DNA sample from Katie's body, Minton was able to conclude that the DNA found in the trash bag matched Katie's.

When asked how sure she was the DNA was a match, Minton said that only 1 in 1.6 quadrillion people could have that type of DNA and that that one person was Katie.

While fingerprinting the bag, crime lab technician Robert Renea said he was also able to retrieve a palm print that was ultimately matched to Karen McCarron's. The palm print was found on the outside of the bag.

Earlier in the day, the court heard testimony from McCarron's mother-in-law, Gail McCarron - Katie's paternal grandmother.

Gail testified she first met Karen McCarron nearly 20 years ago after her son, Paul, began dating McCarron in college.

"We loved Karen very much. It was nice to have another female around the house," Gail said.

Shortly after Katie was diagnosed with autism in late 2003, Paul and Gail moved with Katie to North Carolina in order for Katie to attend a special school for children with autism. The three lived there for nearly two years.

Karen McCarron and her younger daughter, Emily, stayed in Morton so McCarron could continue working as a pathologist. She would fly to North Carolina regularly to visit.

Gail said at one point, after the three moved back to Morton, McCarron asked her what she thought about institutionalizing Katie.

Gail responded to her by saying, "Karen, please don't do that. I would take care of her."

Gail McCarron said Karen McCarron became very detached from Katie in the months leading up to the child's May 13, 2006, death.

"She wouldn't even call (Katie) by her name toward the end. She would just call her 'the kid,'" she said.

"Karen once said to me 'If Katie had cancer, I could deal with it. But I'll never accept autism,'" Gail McCarron said.

Days after the murder in 2006, Gail McCarron said she spoke with McCarron on the phone while McCarron was still in the hospital after the suicide attempt.

During the conversation with Karen McCarron, Gail McCarron asked how long Katie suffered after Karen McCarron wrapped the bag around the girl's head as she played with some toys.

"She said it was about two minutes," Gail McCarron said. "At one point, she said it was terrible."

Also called to the stand was McCarron's sister-in-law, Jennifer McCarron.

On the night of Katie's murder and shortly before McCarron's suicide attempt, Jennifer McCarron described McCarron's demeanor as "kind of cold."

Jennifer McCarron said that after she commented about the disbelief of Katie's death, Karen McCarron said, "Yeah, after all we did for that kid."

Attorneys Marc Wolfe and Steve Baker have entered a not guilty by reason of insanity defense for McCarron, which says she committed the crime but shouldn't be held criminally responsible for it because of her mental state.

While prosecutors interviewed witnesses about specific events surrounding the slaying, Wolfe and Baker spent little time addressing specifics themselves.

During cross examination of witnesses, the defense repeatedly asked general questions that often steered clear of the crime.

All of the witnesses who knew Karen McCarron, a former pathologist, said she was a woman obsessed with curing her daughter's autism and was a perfectionist who would not accept the fact her daughter wasn't "indistinguishable" from her peers.

"It was embarrassing for her," Jennifer McCarron said. "She said she didn't want anyone saying her kid was slow."

Witnesses have said she constantly criticized her daughter's progress and the team of family members, therapists, teachers and care providers hired to help her.

They said the topic of every conversation with her revolved around curing Katie's autism. Negativity and hatefulness were ceaseless when she discussed the child, who they say she never hugged, kissed or praised after she was diagnosed with autism.

"It was never good enough," Jennifer McCarron said. "She looked at Katie as a problem, and she got rid of her problem. There's nothing more to it than that."

The trial continued this morning as more witnesses were to be brought before the jury to testify.

If found guilty on the two counts of first degree murder she is charged with, McCarron could be sentenced to life in prison.

GateHouse News Service contributed to this report.

Photographs of Katie have been made available for public use by her grandfather. Download yours here: Katie McCarron Photos

Initial news reports on Katie's murder
Daughter's murder puts focus on 'toll of autism' With a cautionary note by us on that "toll of autism" thing.
'This was not about autism', grandfather says
Katie's father files for divorce, citing 'extreme mental cruelty'
Karen McCarron admitted to planning the murder
'She told me she killed Katie'
Karen was described as 'lucid' and 'very calm'
Karen's taped confession played in pretrial hearing: 'I wanted to take the autism out of her'
Pretrial and opening statements
Katie's grandpa testifies: Karen thought her life would be 'perfect'. Also, Katie's dad says Karen wanted to institutionalize Katie; Katie's teachers said she was doing fine.
Karen on tape: 'In heaven, she would be complete'
Karen testifies: 'I thought I was killing autism'
Experts testify to Karen's 'insanity' -- 'She thought Katie and autism were two different things'. (If so, what about those NYU autism ransom notes?

More analysis of the Journal-Star articles.
Murder of Autistics (Archive)

Return to Politics