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CNN Live Today
Judge About to Sentence Mother Who Drowned 4-Year-Old Son in Bathtub
Aired September 03, 2003 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to begin at a courthouse today in Troy, New York. A judge is about to sentence a mother, who drowned her four-year old son in a bathtub. A jury last month rejected the insanity defense that Christine Wilhelm was a paranoid schizophrenic suffering from psychotic delusions.
Our Jerry -- Gary Tuchman has been following the case and is awaiting the sentencing, which is to take place just minutes from now.
Gary, good morning.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you. And just like the Andrea Yates case in Texas, this trial horrified a nation. Andrea Yates was convicted of drowning five of her children in a bathtub. Well, one month after she was convicted, the woman in this case, Christine Wilhelm, tried to drown two of her children in a bathtub.
She succeeded with one of them, but the other child escaped and testified against her in this trial. She was found guilty of murder and attempted murder. And today just in minutes, Christine Wilhelm will learn her fate from a judge.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
***
TUCHMAN: As you might imagine, it was painful to watch and listen to this little boy testify against his mother. Peter told the jury that after he escaped from the bathtub, he just didn't know what to do. And he was only five years old when this happened. He said he went into another room and he watched a video, a video called "The Snow Queen" while his little brother was being drowned.
Little Peter won't be here today for the sentencing, but his father, Ken, is inside the courtroom behind me. He will give a victim's impact statement, along with the prosecutor, before the judge decides what the sentence will be.
At the very least, Christine Wilhelm will face 30 years in prison. At the most, life in prison. But if she gets that maximum sentence, she'll be eligible for parole in 37 years when she's 75- years old. And we do want to tell you the prosecutors are telling us that Christine Wilhelm will ask the judge for visitation rights. She wants the right to have her son, the boy she tried to drown, visit her in prison. The prosecutors say they will fight that tooth and nail.
Back to you, Daryn.
KAGAN: Some days you come to work and you can't believe you're still shaking your head at some of this stuff, Gary.
We're going to continue to follow the story. As you said, Christine Wilhelm's husband in the courtroom. And he will be making a victim's impact statement. You'll see that impact statement live here on CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
in Bathtub>
Aired September 3, 2003 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to begin at a courthouse today in Troy, New York. A judge is about to sentence a mother, who drowned her four-year old son in a bathtub. A jury last month rejected the insanity defense that Christine Wilhelm was a paranoid schizophrenic suffering from psychotic delusions.
Our Jerry -- Gary Tuchman has been following the case and is awaiting the sentencing, which is to take place just minutes from now.
Gary, good morning.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you. And just like the Andrea Yates case in Texas, this trial horrified a nation. Andrea Yates was convicted of drowning five of her children in a bathtub. Well, one month after she was convicted, the woman in this case, Christine Wilhelm, tried to drown two of her children in a bathtub.
She succeeded with one of them, but the other child escaped and testified against her in this trial. She was found guilty of murder and attempted murder. And today just in minutes, Christine Wilhelm will learn her fate from a judge.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
***
TUCHMAN: As you might imagine, it was painful to watch and listen to this little boy testify against his mother. Peter told the jury that after he escaped from the bathtub, he just didn't know what to do. And he was only five years old when this happened. He said he went into another room and he watched a video, a video called "The Snow Queen" while his little brother was being drowned.
Little Peter won't be here today for the sentencing, but his father, Ken, is inside the courtroom behind me. He will give a victim's impact statement, along with the prosecutor, before the judge decides what the sentence will be.
At the very least, Christine Wilhelm will face 30 years in prison. At the most, life in prison. But if she gets that maximum sentence, she'll be eligible for parole in 37 years when she's 75- years old. And we do want to tell you the prosecutors are telling us that Christine Wilhelm will ask the judge for visitation rights. She wants the right to have her son, the boy she tried to drown, visit her in prison. The prosecutors say they will fight that tooth and nail.
Back to you, Daryn.
KAGAN: Some days you come to work and you can't believe you're still shaking your head at some of this stuff, Gary.
We're going to continue to follow the story. As you said, Christine Wilhelm's husband in the courtroom. And he will be making a victim's impact statement. You'll see that impact statement live here on CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
in Bathtub>
