Mom kills son atop Mt. Diablo, then shoots self

[Kadie]

Mom kills son atop Mt. Diablo, then shoots self

Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

(07-22) 16:33 PDT WALNUT CREEK -- First, Judith Elizabeth Williams took her two cats to the shelter. Then she brought the family dog to the veterinarian, had it euthanized, and wrote a suicide note.

Then, investigators say, the 51-year-old Walnut Creek woman got in the car with her 16-year-old son, Adam Findley Williams, and drove up Mount Diablo. Near the top of the 3,849-foot peak, at a lookout with panoramic views of the Bay Area, she shot the teenager to death with a .357 handgun and turned the gun on herself, authorities said Wednesday.

Judith Williams was having custody disagreements with her ex-husband, who had remarried, and was having money problems, said Contra Costa County sheriff's Capt. Dan Terry. Those "were the primary motivating" reasons behind the murder-suicide Friday, he said.

However, Adam Williams' father, Jim Williams, said custody of their son wasn't an issue. Although his ex-wife had financial difficulties, he said, she also suffered from mental problems.


more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/22/BAIT18TB26.DTL&tsp=1




:cry:

[boobooday]

1. Seems so selfish to take her son too

:cry:

[GCP]

2. That poor kid

[eqfan592]

3. Wow, that is beyond horrible :( (nt)

[begin_within]

4. And the vet who euthanized the dog didn't ask any questions why?

Yes, I know, the woman's personal life isn't the vet's responsibility. But it would seem he has a little responsibility to offer the best care for the dog, and that would include asking they woman why she was euthanizing the dog, assuming it wasn't sick with some uncurable illness. I certainly would have asked her why, and offered alternatives to euthanizing the dog.

[WildEyedLiberal]

9. And that would've prevented the tragedy how?

Unless euthanizing the dog is a bigger deal to you than murdering the son.

[begin_within]

14. Was expecting the DU Contrarians to chime in...

It might have slowed the chain of events, if the vet had asked her, "Why do you want to euthanize this dog?" (assuming it was still healthy). It could have at least thrown a wrench into her gears of automatic action without contemplation. There's a chance it could have started her thinking about what she was doing and maybe come to a realization that it was wrong, and possibly altered the course of events and saved the boy's life. Does that satisfy your sanctimonious curiosity?

[northernlights]

17. it might have clued him in to the deeper issues

and prevented several unnecessary deaths.

[WildEyedLiberal]

73. Even if he suspected something might be wrong, he wouldn't have been able to do anything

Even if he called the cops, assuming the highly unlikely event that the cops actually acted on a tip that consisted of "a lady wanted to euthanize her healthy dog, so I think she's suicidal", how would they have known where to find the woman at the park?

[kestrel91316]

11. How do you know the dog didn't already have major problems that

warranted euthanasia? Why the kneejerk assumption that the veterinarian blithely euthanized the dog for no good reason??

I know, I know. We veterinarians are ALL JUST EVIL CORPORATE SHILLS WHO ONLY CARE ABOUT THE ALMIGHTY FUCKING DOLLAR, right?

[begin_within]

16. Thank you, DU Contrarians.

For creating additional strife and discord. Just what we need.

[kestrel91316]

22. I'm not the one who started in on veterinarians. The OP went there.

I'm merely pointing out the faulty "blame the vet" thinking and trying to quell the anti-vet hatred so common on DU.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

31. Why is it contrarian to point out that we don't know the whole story?

You're assuming facts (that the dog was healthy) not already in evidence.

I know of a man who killed himself because his dog had to be euthanized, and after that, he felt no point in going on without his deceased wife, nor his best friend.

[glitch]

55. You must be pleased with your result. nt

[Kadie]

28. In all fairness,

I don't think there is enough information to determine what exactly the vet may have done. He/she may have questioned her, or made phone calls if he/she had any concerns. Maybe more info will become available.

[Maru Kitteh]

65. How do you know the vet didn't ask a battery of questions first?

People lie to get what they want.

[ret5hd]

5. 3 more senseless deaths due to lack of national health care.

Yes, I included the dog also.

[kestrel91316]

13. You have no way of knowing the dog's death was "senseless".

I notice that the cats went to the shelter. She could have euthanized them, too, if that's all she cared about.

How do you know the dog didn't have a serious medical condition? Or three?

[ret5hd]

19. none. sorry i offended your delicate sensibilities.

[kestrel91316]

23. Your apology needs to be to my entire profession and more specifically to the veterinarian involved.

But you know that, right?

[eqfan592]

30. Ok, lighten up.

Without more information, it is perfectly valid to question why the vet didn't say anything or ask anything about the dog being put down.

No, we DON'T know for sure if the dog was sick or not. That is why the question is asked. I don't think anybody here is attacking your profession directly, nor do I think anybody owes you an apology for asking these questions.

[ret5hd]

35. Oh, EVERYONE here knows of your profession...

and your dedication to shielding it from the terrible onslaught of persecution you all have to endure here on du.

[cali]

44. oh bullshit. and this crap happens regularly.

she was mentally ill and there's no reason to conclude that this wouldn't have happened if there was national health care.

[ret5hd]

58. waaaah.

[cali]

71. try harder. as a put down, that sucked, dear.

[sharesunited]

6. Thanks Second Amendment!

You are such a treasured "right."

[WildEyedLiberal]

8. Oh for fuck's sake

This has nothing to do with the "Second Amendment." It's nice of you to hijack a story about a tragedy to make a completely unrelated political point, though.

[sharesunited]

10. The 2A is the justification for access to the gun which killed them both.

It is central to the story.

[WildEyedLiberal]

12. Because no one can commit a murder without a gun

And someone so obviously suicidal wouldn't have found another way.

I know you aren't THAT stupid, so please, stop. You're just making yourself look ghoulish.

[sharesunited]

15. Do you picture this crime possible by any other means? I don't. Stop being dishonest.

[Pavulon]

18. Jim jones biatch

what exactly do you propose. You want a gun ban? you want to remove guns from society? If so please enlighten us with your plan on making that happen.

[sharesunited]

20. An excellent step would be to ban sales of new guns and all ammo.

To get to a gun free society, you need first to cut off the source of the problem.

End distribution of new product.

[N7255Q]

24. That approach worked so very very well with marijuana.

I can't believe how abysmally stupid some people actually are.

[sharesunited]

32. Why did you choose something easy to grow for your comparison?

Control and eradication are much easier tasks with guns and ammo.

[eqfan592]

34. Of course this assumes that guns and ammo can't be made at home.

Read up on zip guns once.

[Pavulon]

46. I design turbine blades and could make one beautiful

sig p229, colt 1911 ( I mean absolute museum quality piece) in my basement (a302), not that i would. Not even a challenge, technically. I could crank out hundreds an hour. Ammo is so easy I will not discuss it.

Very easy compared to fan assembly or turning high temperature composites that survive tens of thousands of heat cycles.

A guy in pakistan can make an ak-47 by hand.

Kinda like booze and weed.

[N7255Q]

Okay let's use meth instead. That has to be manufactured and it's an enormous epidemic

in much of the country. Better?

[Pavulon]

25. Then you have millions of guns

left, and ammo can be created. Then you have people who can justify selling a black market product for 20 times what it costs now. 10,000 for a 45 auto, 2 dollars of material and a cnc lathe.

Hmm.

You here of prohibition. Man that was a stunning success.

[sharesunited]

37. Yes, the home workshop would be the last refuge of the gun worshipper.

And Chris Rock has a funny routine about bullets costing $5,000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDC-XQG1ifo

[Pavulon]

54. I have the g code for the AK line on my machine at work..

it is in the open market. Any CNC mill can turn out milled (not stamped shit) in a huge quantity. I set those up all over the world. Ban guns and those guys will probably supply the market.

Guys make this shit in pakistan, by hand. It does not take a machine that can go 5 points right of the point to make a firearm.

Like coke, I wonder where that comes from. Easier to mill parts than grow plants.

[sharesunited]

56. Knock knock knock. ATF calling.

[Pavulon]

59. Nothing illegal about it.

just goes to your silly ignorant point that making guns is some super technical process. A water pump is more difficult to make than a handgun or rifle.

[sharesunited]

60. When it becomes as socially unacceptable as a meth lab, then we will be getting somewhere.

[Pavulon]

61. Whats that, owning a gun?

good luck with that. This law just pisses on law abiding people and continues the dems are anti gun meme.

[X_Digger]

74. Making your own guns is legal..

.. selling them is not (without a license.)

You really should bone up.

[N7255Q]

77. Inventing a complex device can be difficult. UNinventing it is impossible.

Like unscrambling an egg.

[jehovas_waitress]

48. End distribution of new product?

The distribution of a legally manufactured, legally sold, legally bought "product"? Good luck with that. The 2nd Amendment keeps the government from taking my right of self defense away from me.

[cherokeeprogressive]

21. Andrea Yates killed FIVE (count 'em, FIVE) children using nothing more than water.

Your response to that?

[jehovas_waitress]

50. Well, if we had outlawed bathtubs, perhaps..N/T

[N7255Q]

27. How many people did Dahmer, Gacy, McVeigh and Bundy shoot?

Oh, that's right...none.

[eqfan592]

29. WHAT??? You can't picture another way a person...

...can kill themselves and another person without using a gun? I do NOT believe you are THAT dimwitted of a person, which leaves only the possibility that you are intellectually dishonest.

[sharesunited]

39. She could have stayed home and poisoned them both. But she didn't? Why?

Faster, more convenient, and more "merciful" to shoot.

The only way this goes down is by firearm.

[cherokeeprogressive]

40. Why don't you explain why Andrea Yates chased her kids all over the house then drowned them?

Was it faster, more convenient, and more merciful?

That was in TEXAS. Do you think there were no firearms in that house?

You're more goofy than Goofy.

[sharesunited]

42. She was a neat and tidy homemaker. She did not want the blood to contend with!

This seems exceedingly obvious.

And she didn't strangle them, either. It was almost like death by baptismal. Very bible belt.

[cherokeeprogressive]

45. You keep chasing your tail like that, and I promise, if you run fast enough...

sooner or later you'll catch it.

I never fucking said she strangled them. Do you read? The very title of my reply said she killed them with WATER.

[sharesunited]

51. Yes, I just meant: Note That She Did Not Strangle Them.

Water was an inherent part of the sin cleansing ritual.

[eqfan592]

49. Shares, you're a troll.

This post just proved it. Nothing you ever say should ever be taken seriously by anyone, anywhere on these forums.

[N7255Q]

52. I've noticed that not all idiots are trolls.

Not necessarily, at least.

[eqfan592]

62. I hear you...

...but I can't honestly believe he's THAT much of an idiot, nor that heartless for that matter. Better to think him a troll than that.

[sharesunited]

53. Not sure what motivated this comment. Do you lack any insight whatsoever into the human heart?

Andrea Yates cited to me.

Explanation supplied.

Next?

[eqfan592]

63. Wow, you make the comment you did about the Adnrea Yates incident...

...and you ask ME if I lack any insight into the human heart.

I am reminded of this.

[eqfan592]

41. That makes NO sense.

By your logic, NOBODY would EVER commit an act such as this without a firearm. If she did not have this means to do herself in, she would have found some other means. Somebody this disturbed would not have been so easily stopped. It's happened before, with no guns involved. It will likely happen again, with no guns involved.


Get help man. Seriously. When a persons reality is as distorted as yours seems to have become, that can only be a dangerous thing.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

36. Chris Benoit

Did he use a gun on his wife and kid?

Don't be an idiot.

[sharesunited]

47. Roid rage is about exerting personal physical punishment.

While guns are not inconsistent with a roid rage homicide, they cheat the offender out of some of the physical satisfaction their particular demon demands.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

64. You know, I was going to write a reasoned response to your post, which is total gibberish.

But then I realized that, well, you're just fucking insane.

[WildEyedLiberal]

75. Yes, I can, easily

-A knife
-A blunt object (a hammer, a crowbar, a wrench, a tire iron, a baseball bat, a brick, etc etc etc etc etc)
- Drowning
- Suffocation

Are you really stupid enough to think that there are NO ways to commit murder/suicide without a firearm? Did NO ONE kill another person before Samuel Colt invented the revolver? Really?

[eqfan592]

26. Wow, shares, yet another new low. way to go.

[WildEyedLiberal]

7. WHY DO THEY FUCKING KILL THEIR KIDS?

If your life sucks so bad you feel ending it is the only option, that's one thing. But to murder your CHILD because - why? To spite the ex? To "spare them from the pain of the world?"

Fucking psychopaths.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

67. Because unfortunately some people live vicariously thorough their children.

Or their spouses. We're not talking about rational people here.

[Maru Kitteh]

69. and/or their spouses? If you want to kill yourself, FINE! Don't take innocents with you

It does NOTHING to enhance what people think of you afterward.

[spanone]

33. why don't these selfish assholes shoot themselves first

[BlooInBloo]

38. Sigh. RIP.

[proud patriot]

43. too close for comfort

as I can see Mt Diablo from my front porch

[mitchum]

57. BITCH

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

66. This is an awful tragedy.

Such a waste. Doubly weird because I was just up on Windy Hill looking over the bay towards Mt. Diablo at exactly the time this happened. :-(

[orleans]

68. very sad story. n/t

[TexasObserver]

70. Control Freak. Family Killers are the worst humans on earth.

[Th1onein]

72. How much you want to bet she was taking an SSRI?

I, personally, think that we are seeing an explosion of these types of killings because we are seeing a great increase of people being prescribed SSRIs.

[Naturyl]

76. It's always money or sex

And it's usually money.