6-Year-Old Commits Suicide, Medical Examiner Says

OMG!


(April 6) -- The death of a 6-year-old Oregon girl sent to her room after exchanging cross words with her mother has been classified as a suicide by a state medical examiner.

After her mother told her to go to her room, Samantha Kuberski, a first-grader in McMinnville, Ore., crawled into an unused crib, tied one end of a belt around her neck, the other on a bar of the crib, and hanged herself, according to reports.

The incident happened on Dec. 2, days shy of the girl's 7th birthday, making her the youngest person in Oregon history to have committed suicide.

But McMinnville police investigating Samantha's death are not convinced that the girl understood the consequences of her actions. They are challenging the classification of suicide. Samantha's death, they argue, was the result of an accident.

"The disagreement is a little more philosophical than it is material to the case," McMinnville police Capt. Dennis Marks told KGW News in Portland. "It's not that we disagree with the mechanics of what happened. It's the finding that a 6-year-old could form that kind of intent."

Dr. Clifford Nelson, Oregon's deputy medical examiner, made the suicide determination based on a variety of factors, including interviews with the grief-stricken family. And Dr. Karen Gunson, the chief medical examiner for the state, said that investigators learned that the girl's parents had warned all of their children of the dangers of playing with belts around their necks.

"Statements were made by the girl that indicated she was going to kill herself," Gunson told KGW News. "She had the means and she realized that if she put something around her neck that was dangerous and could cause death -- because her parents had told her that. My contention is that shows intent."

Samantha threatened to kill herself as she was sent to her room, according to her family.

Citing a respect for privacy for the family, Brad Berry, the district attorney in Yamhill County, has refused to release police records of Samantha's death to the press. He said that no criminal charges have been filed.

Oh my, this is just so hard to believe. I can't imagine this happening to a child this young!

I know, me either Piper! I was just so flabbergasted when I read it! What 6yr old mind REALLY understands "killin themselves"? Whot he heck is this ME anyway? I can honestly remember when my daughter at that age would say things like that or I'm running away, whatever and I would say ok fine let me pack for you. I knew in my heart she was too young to seriously act on it but we would "pack" her things and talk and by the end we had unpacked her things and all was right with or world. I'm so sure her parents prolly let her cool down in her room for a few before they checked on her. I just can't imagine the horror they must have experienced. The earth needs a cleansing.

This is incredibly sad.

I can't even imagine what the parents are going through. Samantha made a threat like little kids sometimes do, but there's no way her parents could have expected to find her dead when they went in her room. This is very sad.

I think she did intend to do what she did - kids these days are not like they used to be - my 10 yr old told me when he was 7 that he was going to kill himself - that he didn't want to live anymore - and you talk about something grabbing your attention!! I stopped right then and there and had a loooong talk with him about that, which is what I think this girls parents should have done. Raising kids in this day and age is done by a completely different set of rules than EVER before. we HAVE to take them seriously - they are overexposed to the media, and violence on tv (even the commercials are extremely violent) - teen and "tween" shows are extremely sexual in nature - and the list goes on - my experience is that we HAVE to LISTEN to our children - for my son, he was crying out for attention from his very absent bio dad - I addressed the issue and he's never said those words again - now I think he realizes the meaning of those words and the seriousness of it. I wonder why the parents didn't address that with the little girl immediately? I guarantee you that any of you would have done exactly what i did - when a child that young says they are going to kill themself - it sends a jolting shock right thru you - but it didn't seem to phase these parents??? I am sorry for their loss, but I think they could have prevented it. I think this little girl was crying out for some kind of attn like my son was...

I agree Tish. I can't imagine the parents not responding to her threat. I guess in the heat of the moment...Then again, I only know what I would do, not others. I'm sure they must feel absolutely horrible. How sad that a six year old would even WANT to end her life.

Most people wouldn't expect a young child to commit suicide, but if it was one of my children I would definitely listen to the threat, and we would have a long talk. I would be shocked to have heard that come out of one of their mouths and wouldn't just let it go and send my child to her room behind closed doors. I think too much of what children say is ignored. There are too many parents with the attitude that children are meant to be seen and not heard. I've also had people tell me that I'm letting my children play me just because I choose to listen to their side of a story instead of punishing them for something right away. I hope this tragedy is a wake up call for parents to listen to what their children are saying.