A young seven year old girl survived a 75 foot fall of a bridge into the Willamette River on Saturday morning, and her mother is accused of her attempted murder. Unfortunately, the girls little brother, Eldon Jay Rebhan Smith drowned and was killed in the incident. Not only did the young girl survive the fall, but also 30 minutes in the cold water of the Willamette River.
It is still not clear exactly what happened but witnesses nearby said that they heard a splash and then screams for help coming from the bridge and water below. The mother, Amando Jo Stott-Smith was taken into custody about six hours after the incident. She threatened suicide when the officers arrived to arrest her.
Stott-Smith is facing aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder charges and is set to be arraigned on Tuesday of this coming week. Stott-Smith had filed for a separation from her husband back in March, and they shared custody of the little girl and boy. She has also been charged with domestic abuse back in 2000 according to court records.
This case is similar to others that we have seen and heard about of kids being killed by their parents. What is going on in our society? It seems that we find new and terrible ways to make ourselves more and more barbaric every single day. This horrible tragedy is far from the only one in the headlines lately, but it is certainly among the worst.
How can a mother hold her kids out over a 75 foot bridge and drop them to their intended deaths? What manner of evil is capable of such a thing? Surely she must be mentally ill in some manner or form. The unfortunate thing is that some people are just plain evil. Some people have been found to be completely aware of what they were doing and completely unremorseful about what they did after the fact. This is what makes cases such as this one so scary.
If our parents are doing these types of things, what does it say about us as a society. Surely this woman experienced something in her lifetime that contributed to her ability to do such a thing. Did we miss out on a chance to change her course in life? Was this just a case of a woman losing control for reasons that we can not comprehend?
Whatever the case, it is a clear example of why we have to watch out for our children. It takes more than just a Mother and Father to raise a child anymore. It takes a society of people that all have the child’s interests in mind. That is the part that is getting tough to come by anymore. No way this child should have been with someone that is so unstable. Now one child is dead, and another is damaged for life in trying to understand why her Mother tried to kill her.
God keep her safe and secure, and I wish her the very best.
