Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Woman Convicted of Drowning Son Faces Sentencing
Aired September 03, 2003 - 08:06 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Bill, a mentally ill woman who was diagnosed as mentally ill is scheduled to be sentenced today for drowning one of her young sons and attempting to drown the other. Her lawyers say she should spend the rest of her life in a psychiatric institution, not in a prison.
Gary Tuchman is following the case in Troy, New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Luke was 4 years old, and Peter 5, when their mother tried to kill them both.
Christine Wilhelm's defense? That she was a paranoid schizophrenic who did not know right from wrong. She testified on videotape about trying to drown her children in this bathtub.
CHRISTINE WILHELM, CONVICTED MURDERER: Then the next thing I know I'm getting the dog leashes. The kids are in the bathtub, and I put the dog leash around Peter's feet and dunked him under water. And he said, "Mommy, stop," and he stopped. And I stopped. And I took the dog leash off of him and helped him out of the tub and gave him a towel. And he said, "Don't do..." you know, "Don't do that!"
TUCKHAM: Peter survived. But his little brother did not. He drowned at the hands of his mother minutes later.
TRISH DEANGELIS, PROSECUTOR: When she killed that beautiful little boy, she knew exactly what she was doing. And she knew it was wrong. So don't let them tell you different.
TUCHMAN: In an unusual and emotional part of the trial the surviving son testified about what happened that day in April, 2002.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mom tried to drown me cause she had a sickness in her mind and she didn't take her whole medication so she had that problem and she tried to drown me. But instead she drowned my brother two times.
TUCHMAN: Christine Wilhelm's trial in Troy, New York, is reminiscent of the Andrea Yates case in Houston, in which the Texas mother also used mental illness as a defense but was convicted. And Wilhelm met the same fate after eleven hours of jury deliberations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As to murder in the second degree, how do you find?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty.
TUCHMAN: The convicted murderer's husband, Ken, testified for the prosecution. He now has custody of their son, Peter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: The sentencing hearing begins about one hour from now. Christine Wilhelm faces a minimum of 30 years in prison on the two charges, a maximum of life in prison.
If she gets the maximum, she would be eligible for parole in 37 years, when she's 75 years old.
Her husband, Ken, is expected to be here in Troy today giving a victim impact statement, along with the prosecution. His son, Peter, is not expected to be here.
One more thing, Soledad, we want to mention to you, the prosecutor tells us that Christine Wilhelm will ask a judge for visitation rights with her son, the son she tried to drown. And prosecutors, not shockingly, say they will vigorously oppose that -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Gary Tuchman. Incredible story. Thank you for that update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 3, 2003 - 08:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Bill, a mentally ill woman who was diagnosed as mentally ill is scheduled to be sentenced today for drowning one of her young sons and attempting to drown the other. Her lawyers say she should spend the rest of her life in a psychiatric institution, not in a prison.
Gary Tuchman is following the case in Troy, New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Luke was 4 years old, and Peter 5, when their mother tried to kill them both.
Christine Wilhelm's defense? That she was a paranoid schizophrenic who did not know right from wrong. She testified on videotape about trying to drown her children in this bathtub.
CHRISTINE WILHELM, CONVICTED MURDERER: Then the next thing I know I'm getting the dog leashes. The kids are in the bathtub, and I put the dog leash around Peter's feet and dunked him under water. And he said, "Mommy, stop," and he stopped. And I stopped. And I took the dog leash off of him and helped him out of the tub and gave him a towel. And he said, "Don't do..." you know, "Don't do that!"
TUCKHAM: Peter survived. But his little brother did not. He drowned at the hands of his mother minutes later.
TRISH DEANGELIS, PROSECUTOR: When she killed that beautiful little boy, she knew exactly what she was doing. And she knew it was wrong. So don't let them tell you different.
TUCHMAN: In an unusual and emotional part of the trial the surviving son testified about what happened that day in April, 2002.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mom tried to drown me cause she had a sickness in her mind and she didn't take her whole medication so she had that problem and she tried to drown me. But instead she drowned my brother two times.
TUCHMAN: Christine Wilhelm's trial in Troy, New York, is reminiscent of the Andrea Yates case in Houston, in which the Texas mother also used mental illness as a defense but was convicted. And Wilhelm met the same fate after eleven hours of jury deliberations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As to murder in the second degree, how do you find?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty.
TUCHMAN: The convicted murderer's husband, Ken, testified for the prosecution. He now has custody of their son, Peter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: The sentencing hearing begins about one hour from now. Christine Wilhelm faces a minimum of 30 years in prison on the two charges, a maximum of life in prison.
If she gets the maximum, she would be eligible for parole in 37 years, when she's 75 years old.
Her husband, Ken, is expected to be here in Troy today giving a victim impact statement, along with the prosecution. His son, Peter, is not expected to be here.
One more thing, Soledad, we want to mention to you, the prosecutor tells us that Christine Wilhelm will ask a judge for visitation rights with her son, the son she tried to drown. And prosecutors, not shockingly, say they will vigorously oppose that -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Gary Tuchman. Incredible story. Thank you for that update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
