Mother of murdered infant twins speaks publically...

[budnkota]

WKOW Video Player

This is such a horrendous story. I couldn't even watch more than a few minutes of this, because even seeing this woman makes me ill.
I've read comments elsewhere though saying that she was calling him "an amazing man when he's not drinking." Any man who would viciously beat tiny babies to death is evil - no qualifiers necessary.
Can you imagine leaving your tiny babies for 3 days - much less with a volatile alcoholic? The courts didn't even want him to have contact with her or the babies - she is the one who asked that it be allowed.
The NBC 15 site out of Madison has an interesting comment string going on - very different perspectives going on.

A small part of me feels for her. I knew of her a bit 10 years ago and know she made allegations against her adoptive father. I also know that she was hanging out in bars at 15 or 16 - using her adoption papers to say she was there with her adoptive mom (she wasn't - she found somebody who was willing to play "mom" for WHATEVER reason). This girl had some serious problems long before these babies... but I can't forgive somebody for putting their child in that position.

 

[Music-dad]

I'm sorry, but I made it to about the 30 sec mark, and had to stop it.

 

[.:Kalli Rae:.]

It's not working for me. I will try from my home computer, although it seems like not something I should really watch. People are so disgusting these days. I couldn't imagine hurting my kids at all, let alone leaving them with someone who was capable of killing them.

 

[Music-dad]

The 30 sec, I watched, the woman was smiling and chipper believe it or not!

 

[.:Kalli Rae:.]

I don't even know what to say to that...

WTF does she have to be chipper about?!?

 

[budnkota]

I think she really beleives she has no responsibility for what happened. Some people Do deal with stress with a smile, so I won't hold that against her so much - but I've read postings from her and her friends and there is absolutely no acceptance of her culpability.
It's all "I had no idea" or "nobody thought Dave was capable of this." Uhm - he beat her when she was pregnant with those babies, so it was already clear that he was capable of hurting them. The judge wanted to deny his contact with those babies - Susan requested it be allowed. So the judge apparently thought there was cause for concern and went against his better judgment to grant her request.

the first few minutes are all her rambling about how safe our hometown is - blah blah blah. but it just gets wierder from there.

When the reporter brings up people discussing her criminal past, she goes into how people need to focus on Savannah and Tyler. She says that a couple times. As if her history of making horrendous choices doesn't come into play here. My God - this is the same woman who used her foster daughter in her drug deals! Her past and history of inappropriate behavior is VERY relevant. I just hope CPS is watching her remaining 2 kids very carefully. Those poor little ones are definately the forgotten victims in this situation...
I thought there were a few totally appropriate questions that reporter should have been asking and didn't. That's too bad.

 

[Kaytee]

won't let me play it either, just says ready

 

[fallon]

wow...I really have no words

 

[jtee]

This looks like a fake news interview, ie she is being interviewed by her lawyer (or hired reporter) and it was rehearsed.

 

[Music-dad]

won't let me play it either, just says ready

Trust me it may upset you...so not playing may be a good thing.

 

[budnkota]

it's not upsetting as in graphic or anything - it's the uncut interview tape. It's just very appalling to see this mom just - I don't even know the correct word. It's like she's talking about her car being vandalized or something rather than a horrendous murder and takes no accountability for her choices - yet doesn't want anybody looking at her too closely either.
Those poor little babies..
I don't know if she has an attorney, since she is reportedly not a suspect, but I agree that this was some kind of ploy on her part to try to vindicate herself. Doesn't quite work. WKOW is a legimate news station though, so it's not a fake reporter. He must have had to agree to only lob softballs as a condition of the interview though...

 

[jtee]

Because I am not familiar with the story, the station, or the reporter who did the interview, I wondered if the station actually taped that interview, or that interview was provide to them. I was mostly speculating.

I majored in film/TV in college, and that interview looked staged to some degree. She clearly knew what questions were going to be asked, and handled them all extremely well. I also worked in the court system for 1 year, and attorneys often would take a pro-active approach by answering tough questions before they were asked. "Yes, my client acknowledges several things such as.....".

Overall I was just surprised on how calm/collected she was. Most parents would be so crushed that they wouldn't be able speak about it for a very long time. Most parents would prefer not to speak about it period, let alone go in front of a camera on the local news.

 

[hwnorth]

Yes looks like the uncut interview ... but WOW ... the smile on her face ..and just .. no accountability.. and not a lot of emotion in the deaths of her babies.
and she KNOWS hes abusive when he drinks ..like ... wtf ????

I agree there was some rehearsal there

what was she charged with 6 years ago ??

 

[Ari2]

I wonder if she is taking some meds such as tranquilizers. Her slow blink, slightly blunted affect and speech, and kind of glazed look makes me wonder if she's either on something or is numbed and slowed down from grief and crying.

I want to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she is in shock and denial. Any mother would blame herself to some degree for what happened and that could be overwhelming. I can't imagine being her in situation.

This is a local story for me (same state, different city), and I frequently get my local news from WKOW. This doesn't seem inconsistent with similar stories that it has ran. For the most part, I've avoided learning the details of this case: As the mother of twins just thinking about it makes me sick.

 

[budnkota]

I majored in film/TV in college, and that interview looked staged to some degree. She clearly knew what questions were going to be asked, and handled them all extremely well. I also worked in the court system for 1 year, and attorneys often would take a pro-active approach by answering questions before they were asked. "Yes, my client acknowledges several things such as.....".

I agree completely. Our policy was always to NOT provide the subject the questions beforehand (which would be hard for me, since I rarely ended up asking what I had written down, and frequently asked things I'd not thought of before), but it was apparently done here.. This especially seems apparent in the lack of follow up questions and that she was not really strongly questioned...
I've followed the story closely for several reasons, but I don't know much about this reporter. Just that I know there are things I would have asked - the same kinds of questions that everybody is asking on the message boards about this case.

I'd be shocked if WKOW would use video provided by an attorney or anybody else on behalf of the subject. I don't recall ever coming across something like that in all my years in the media...
I wonder if she's trying to take a preemptive strike in case they decide to charge her.. the Sauk County DAs have a history of NOT prosecuting mothers whose irresponsibility leads to their child's death by anothers hand, but I feel strongly that she should be. I'd imagine there's some pressure for them to do so with this case..

 

[budnkota]

HW - there were a couple things. THe major one was a conviction for selling & manufacture of drugs - which involved her 15-y-o foster child. They were apparently using the kid to run drugs for them. She also has a disorderly conduct. I think there were a few others - oddly enough, Wisc court access is only showing her convictions, not dismissed charges...

Ari- This story's really touched a nerve with me. I don't think I've followed a case so closely outside of work. I'm from Baraboo originally... and I knew this person slightly. I don't know how they ever met, but my mom tried to help her out that summer... although I wonder how much of what she was telling my mom was true. Who knows. I can only imagine how upset my mom would be if she were still alive.

I'd have to agree that Susan is probably taking prescribed meds right now. It's not the lack of tears that bothers me. As others have said, people deal with stuff differently. It's a combination of many factors, but especially that she claims she had no idea this man, with his extensive history, could harm them. That she left those tiny babies for 3 days. Not just when she was working, but the whole weekend. I find it unacceptable that he was EVER left alone with them at that age, but if it came down to it, she should have dropped them off and picked them up each day... tiny babies need their primary caregiver. That long of a separation and hey are going to be stressed. Combine that with an already volatile man? Horrific.
When my son was that age, I was up a dozen times a night to make sure he was still breathing. There'd be no way I'd leave him at that age. I wasn't even thrilled when he did his first overnight with his dad at 2...

 

[jtee]

I wonder if she is taking some meds such as tranquilizers. Her slow blink, slightly blunted affect and speech, and kind of glazed look makes me wonder if she's either on something or is numbed and slowed down from grief and crying.

I want to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she is in shock and denial.

I had similar thoughts as well. There is a good chance she could be on medication and/or shut down her emotions on this matter (emotional denial).

How people deal with sudden and extreme tragedy can vary greatly. People have been suspected of murder because they didn't break down immediately and/or seemed unaffected by a tragic event. Some even go to work the very next day and proceed as if nothing has changed, but it is more a state of shock than being indifferent.

 

[Music-dad]

I wonder if she is taking some meds such as tranquilizers. Her slow blink, slightly blunted affect and speech, and kind of glazed look makes me wonder if she's either on something or is numbed and slowed down from grief and crying.
quote]


I totally agree with this...drugs could make her not care, and show little emotion....

 

[HappyMomma]

I just kept thinking...

uhhh... is she high or what?

"he might have left them in a diaper too long or not heard them cry... "

"It hard to turn someone you loved into a monster overnight"... HUH!!!?????

 

[budnkota]

I just talked to my kid brother in Baraboo. I didn't realize that he was friends with the ex-husband, John (not the man accused of murder). John even stayed at my brother's during their divorce.
My bro is telling me that not only was Susan showing up with bruises claiming Car accident (yet no damage to the vehicle), but that her other children WERE hit by Yates.

CPS refused to comment if there was an investigation at that time, but sounds like there must have been (we didn't get into too much detail, so I am just assuming the father made a report).
Yet she sits there saying "how could I have known?"
so sad.