"As Boston police probed whether a Roslindale mother in the throes of despair may have murdered her two young children, relatives and friends of the woman, who is hospitalized with stab wounds, described her as a lost soul who clings to abusive men." 

Two children have been murdered, but the killer isn't bad--she's a "lost soul" who is "in the throes of despair" because she is the victim of  "abusive men."  Apologies for violent women are standard in the mainstream media--somehow it's never her fault, and is usually a man's fault. (To read more examples, click here and here).

This time it's the Boston Herald--a conservative newspaper--making excuses for a murderous mommy. Some would point out that both authors here are women, but men are actually worse about making excuses for violent women than women are.

The story is below. The neighbors' memorial for the two slain children is pictured.

A life in turmoil: Mystery shrouds slain kids’ murders
By Jessica Van Sack and Michele McPhee
Boston Herald, 7/31/07

As Boston police probed whether a Roslindale mother in the throes of despair may have murdered her two young children, relatives and friends of the woman, who is hospitalized with stab wounds, described her as a lost soul who clings to abusive men.

Relatives, friends and co-workers identified the mother as Angela Lopez, 30, and her children as Dennis, 10, and Jasmine, 12.

Police responding to a Sunday night call for a suicidal woman had to kick in an air-conditioning unit to gain entry to the Maynard Street home, where a high-ranking BPD source said they found the bodies of the children tucked in their beds and the mother brutally stabbed in what many believe was a self-inflicted attack.

The children may have been suffocated or forced to ingest poison, the source said. BPD officials said Lopez was not able to cooperate with investigators yesterday, and she remains hospitalized.

“It was a confusing scene,” said one BPD source who added that the mother’s blood trail may have led to erroneous initial reports that the children had also been stabbed.

BPD spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said investigators have not yet determined how the two died. “We are awaiting the results of an autopsy,” Driscoll said.

Lopez’s cousin, Nilda Lopez, yelled out in shock, “Why? How!” upon learning the tragic fate of her cousin’s little girl and boy. “Que paso?” she cried to relatives on the phone before heading to the hospital where her cousin worked.

Her eyes brimming with tears, Nilda Lopez said she last saw her cousin on duty Friday in the reception area of the urology department at Children’s Hospital before she abruptly quit.

“She was crying,” said Nilda Lopez. adding that her cousin recently complained about problems in her relationship. “I told her she could come stay with me if she wanted to.”

She said her cousin Angela had broken up with her boyfriend, also an employee at Children’s, because “he played her.” But Nilda Lopez had little indication of the horrific turn of events that would follow.

Read the full article here.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 8th, 2007 at 12:31 am and is filed under Crime/Criminal Justice System/Police, Child Protective Services/Child Welfare System, Men and the Media, Sexism, Single Mothers, "Single Mothers by Choice", Misandry, Gender Issues (Misc.), Child Abuse. You can trackback from your own site.