Reddit's open forum for discussion of all aspects of actual crimes and their legal processes. Unlike some subs, our community allows videos or links to kick off discussion. Be kind to others and enjoy the true crime conversations.
Text
In dishonor of mothers day I'm hoping people here can name cases of women who have done bad things to their children . They can be biological, step moms, foster, adopted whatever. If you know something please let us know. This community always has something to teach.
Sort by:
Best
Open comment sort options
Best
Top
New
Controversial
Old
Q&A
Lori Vallow Daybell who was found guilty in Idaho of murdering her two kids (one who had autism) and of murdering Tammie Daybell, the mother of five kids, on Mother's Day last year!
EDIT: It should be Tammy (not Tammie) Daybell.
It's absolutely heartbreaking knowing Tylee could have gotten away but stayed because she was worried about her little brother JJ.
Just horrible. And then she goes off to Hawaii and dances on the beach while her kids are mouldering in the grave.
Just unbelievable, really. Her poor children. I guess she has one who is still alive? I can’t imagine having such a monster for a mother.
Tylee seemed like such a sweet, genuinely loving and kind person and sister. Bless both of their souls.
It crushed my heart to hear how the older brother spoke about her and the little guy, and even how conflicted he was about his own mother. It shows humanity; you love this person, your mother, but their actions are inconceivable
When I heard how the older brother spoke about his siblings, in addition to being heartbreaking, I was wondering, how the hell did Lori think she could just kill those kids and not be questioned about it?
I guess I'll never really understand the criminal mind, though I've tried for such a long time to do so....
Yes for real. So many people loved those kids. So many noticed Lori’s changes in the last few months. I wish someone could’ve put 2 + 2 together but things are only so clear in hindsight.
The older brother was def the first to suspect and I think it could’ve gone on a lot longer if he didn’t demand to speak to Tylee. I mean, he could tell it wasn’t her just by her typing. He KNEW his sister.
But those fucking cult members willing to lie to police to keep the investigation stalled…
What did my head in was watching her talking to law enforcement and convincing them that she had done nothing wrong and it was her husband who was in the wrong, not her, and they were completely taken in by her and let her go. Her poor husband, no one listened to him and he ended up dead. I think he gets forgotten in this a bit, because of the (obviously entirely justified) horror of the kids being killed.
Not only that but you hear about all of the years she was a “good” mother?! To hear her son say so many great things about her and the years they were together and to hear her fall more and more into delusions is unnerving
That is sooooo heartbreaking. I didn't realize that....
Didn't she also have her husband murdered?
Yes! Going on trial for murder of Charles Vallow in Arizona, set to start in August.
Yep. And I’m 90% sure she had some part in the death of her “hitman” brother as well. His death was way too well timed for her benefit.
This case absolutely breaks my heart. I don’t revisit it at all just cause it depresses me. I just feel so much for the kids! I’m glad she’s rotting in prison but I hope she realizes one day what she did and has to live it for the rest of her rotten life.
And now HE is on trial, hoping he gets life without parole.
I'm hoping Chad Daybell gets life without parole, too, because I think it's worse to be in prison for life (versus getting the death penalty). But, it will be interesting to see how it plays out, see if he does get the death penalty.
Stacey Castor. She poisoned her husband with antifreeze and then tried to frame her daughter by poisoning her and writing a suicide note/confession in her name. Luckily, her daughter survived. People also speculate that she had something to do with her first husband's death.
“Anti Free”
One of my favorite Forensic Files episodes. 😂😂
Right, I forgot 😂 that's what gave her away!
Kind of ironic that she was found dead in her prison cell of a heart attack, which was originally thought to be the ‘cause of death’ of her first husband that she murdered
I always found it so bizarre that she buried her husbands next to each other. As if she was starting her "collection".
Idk, it probably seems weird knowing what we know now about the case, but it’s pretty common for twice-widowed people to have their spouses buried in the same cemetery because it makes it easier to visit their graves. I do find it strange to bury them right next to each other, though.
You're probably right! Also, David's son had his body moved to a different cemetery in 2016 apparently - so they're not next to each other anymore.
The Hart moms, drove their adoptive kids over a cliff
Omg yes. Those babies :(
That case is just heartbreaking and infuriating. I listened to the podcast "Broken Harts" and read through a bunch of screenshots of Jen's facebook posts a while ago and it's just inconceivable what they did to these kids the facade they put up.
Seconded. The podcast was SO good.
Came here to say this! I think about this case often. Heartbreaking.
omg yess why didn't Sarah have the guts to tell Jen to f off with her psycho plan
She wasn’t a mom at the time of her crime but it infuriates me to no end that Karla Homolka is free and has children. Fuck her, I hope she gets what she deserves some day.
It's so messed up that she helped kill her own sister and is now raising children like how were they not taken away at birth she's clearly pure evil
And then there’s Lattie McGee. I say this poor baby’s name out loud every so often. I read that ancient Egyptians believed if a persons name was still said aloud they had eternal life. His name is one on a list.
I feel that as long as a person’s name is spoken, they still exist.
I never knew that it was an ancient Egyptian belief!
Little Lattie has had a place in my heart since I learned about him. I remember an article that said he was only one of 40k reported cases of abuse or neglect in just his county, and almost 40 cases of child death. They each had an entire story, but Lattie is the only one whose name I know and think of.
He weighed, at 4yo, less than my kids did at their first birthdays. I’ll never forget reading about all the wounds on his tiny body, imagining the horrors he endured.
As a mother, genuinely happy to be with her kids today (Mother’s Day) and every day, my heart breaks for Lattie and each one of the babies -and their mothers- who never knew what true care and love and hope feel like.
Cook county. His story broke my heart too. There was a journalist, Bob Greene, who brought Lattie to my attention and I haven’t forgotten him since. He died in 1987. Now I’m thinking about Yummy Sandifer.
Helping him rape and murder her own little sister. 🤬 She changed her name and had kids and gets to have a life!
I hope there's eyes on her wherever she goes. Her and Casey Anthony.
I think Casey Anthony is certainly a contender for worst mother
This was immediately who came to my mind too. Her current persona of drinking and partying is what she always wanted.
She's vile , she killed Caylee
I can't understand the thought process of people who think she's innocent
Or the people who think her dad molest her and was afraid he was going to molest Caylee therefor giving her a free pass to kill Caylee. Smh
(Mom influencer) Ruby Franke—not THE worst, but definitely just the worst
She and Jodi Hildebrandt were 100% going to murder those children if her son hadn’t gotten help.
I don’t disagree. How do people get to be like that?? I just can’t comprehend that mentality.
Honestly that they’re both part of the LDS church kind of had them primed for that obsessive, cultish way of thinking and framing behavior that (when you look at it objectively) was obviously the result of severe abuse and trauma. There are a lot of teachings out there, religious or otherwise, that prey on making abuse victims into the villains or the orchestrators of their own trauma. Honestly, Ruby and Jodi should have been able to recognize what they were doing and stop being monsters, but the dad is also to blame for abandoning his children to a woman who was clearly unhinged to begin with… but again, he was brainwashed by his church too.
Honestly we need to go back in time and kick Brigham Young’s ass.
Edit to add honestly how many times can I say honestly 🫣
Seeing the documentary I cried seeing the pictures of how skinny her son was and his raw wounds from being bound. I don’t believe for a second that she was brainwashed or didn’t know what she was doing.
The 911 call from the neighbor and the ring cam footage of the boy approaching the neighbors house made me cry.
The neighbor is such a decent person and upon realizing what he is seeing and describing, he breaks down a bit and then works so hard to regain his composure because he knew the boy needed help asap.
But man, that realization in his voice of how serious this is. Ugh.
She knew exactly what she was doing. I can’t bring myself to watch the documentary. I sure hope those kids are doing okay.
Louise Turpin.
From Wikipedia:
The Turpin case involved the abuse of children and dependent adults by their parents, David and Louise Turpin of Perris, California, U.S. The ages of the 13 victims ranged from 2 to 29 years-old. On January 14, 2018, one of the daughters, then-17-year-old Jordan Turpin, escaped and called local police, who then raided the residence and discovered disturbing evidence. Given the number of dependents involved, the degree of abuse, and the protracted nature occurring over decades, the story garnered significant national and international news. Experts in family abuse considered the case to be extraordinary for many reasons.
Further reading:
The Family Next Door
by John Glatt
Man the bodycam footage from when the officer responds to her call sticks with me, and not much sticks with me.
Susan Smith
I lived not far from where this happened. Even all these years later it upsets me. Being local we saw so much more coverage than most of the country. She strapped those boys in carseats, locked the doors and rolled her car into that lake. She deserves no mercy IMHO.
Bits of coverage keeps coming back to me - newscaster saying the boys were found holding hands, and there were ‘indications’ that the oldest (Michael) tried to get his brother out of his carseat.
Another reporter relating that the boys were buried together in a single coffin.
The collective gasp of everyone in the room when it was announced she was being charged with murder.
I honestly thought she had either hidden the boys away somewhere or paid someone to ‘kidnap’ them so they could be rescued after she and David reunited.
I was 13 or 14 when that happened. I remember from the first news report, my mom said that Susan did it. She was so adamant that it was an inside job. I couldn’t believe it when she turned out to be right.
I'm from Spartanburg, SC. I agree. This case really rocked the community to its core. Horrific.
This happened less than an hour from my hometown/home (I live in Spartanburg, SC). I was only four years old at the time, but my grandmother who is 77 is haunted by this case.
Susan Smith is eligible for parole this coming November (2024). She is currently incarcerated in Greenwood, SC. I hope she is not released.
Is she the one who drowned her sons in the lake ?
Alive. She could have drugged them before…all bc she wanted a man to like her. Diane downs is similar but in my opinion worse..just watch her interviews.
Everytime I hear Hungry like a Wolf. I think of farrah fawcett playing Diana Downs in the movie about her.
I literally just heard that song yesterday and had visions of that scene in my head the whole time.
Yes, and then claimed a black man had carjacked her, and she'd managed to escape, but he took off with the kids in the car. She knew that, given that it was in South Carolina, she was likely to be believed with little question. That was, indeed, the case, at least at first. It fortunately didn't take long for some perceptive investigators to realize her story just didn't add up and that she was full of shit.
Yes with Susan Smith the police were clued in to the false carjacking story because of the traffic light. The timing programmed into the intersection was not consistent with her “waiting at the intersection” story.
Pearl Fernandez. Tortured and murder her son Gabriel Fernandez after child services failed him. Pure evil.
Came here to say this. So many failed this poor child, but especially his own mother. Those pictures of him holding up the cards he made for her on Mother’s Day broke me.
This was the moment I bawled like a baby. I've not been able to finish the documentary since that episode. Heart breaking
Jennifer Crumbley
It’s like they were TRYING to raise a school shooter
I think they were more hoping he would off himself. Either way they were extremely narcissistic and I would put more of the fault on the parents than the kid. Who was obviously severely mentally ill and his actions were enabled by the people who are supposed to be responsible for caring for him.
The insane part to me is that they also acted with zero regard for their own self-interest. Ethan could have just as easily snapped at home and turned that gun on them rather than his classmates, and yet they apparently never considered that maybe they should have (at the very least) taken more effort to secure the gun.
The level of willful blindness they adopted about Ethan's clear mental health issues went past just being disgusting and fully into "how are y'all this stupid?"
Yeah I'm not even going to try to bother spending to much time getting into their heads and understanding their thought process. The parents were idiots and should not have raised a child.