Cassidy Goodson, 14, allegedly murders her newborn in bathroom

Cassidy Goodson, 14, allegedly murders her newborn in bathroom
*Warning- graphic details in linked article
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/334035#ixzz28OGVsOfJ

What as heartbreaking, horrible tragedy, on so many levels. I have heard she will be charged with first degree murder and aggravated child abuse. Prosecutors are considering charges against her parents.

The infant was nearly 10 pounds-- and the teen weighs 100 pounds. I have cared for hundreds of teens and women in labor (labor nurse years ago, and place epidurals and ITN's now as an anesthetist)-- and this had to be a horrific labor.

I am completely torn about what to think about this case. Both for the infant who was killed before he had a chance to live, the teen in a completely awful situation, the POS parents in denial, the other adults who knew/ suspected and stood by mute, and many other layers of painful reality.

I just can't figure out the right answer here. This case has haunted me for 2 days now. I have a daughter nearly her age.

I would be interested to read your opinions on this case. Should she be charged with first degree murder and aggravated child abuse? Should the parents be charged?

(Google Cassidy Goodson to read more articles.)

Thanks KZ for posting this story. That is one of the most horrible cases I have heard. I think the girl's mother should also be held responsible too. From what the article said, the mom's two sisters tried to tell her and she wouldn't believe it. Sounds a little like the Anthony family, doesn't it?

She can be tried as an adult, even though she is being held in a youthful defenders jail. She can stay there till she reaches 18, then be moved to a regular prison. And if she wasn't raped, and the sheriff said he had an idea who the father is, he should also be charged for statutory rape, if nothing else.

The news reports really gloss over and sanitize what was really going on when this 14yo, 100# child was birthing a 9 1/2 # baby on her own in a bathroom. And using scissors on her own body to get the baby born.

And WTF was up with the ER docs who presumably examined her the first time when her mom brought her in and she claimed to have had a miscarriage?? Did they even DO an exam?? WTF? Yes, there would be EVIDENCE that a 14yo birthed a 9 1/2 # baby.

KZ wrote:The news reports really gloss over and sanitize what was really going on when this 14yo, 100# child was birthing a 9 1/2 # baby on her own in a bathroom. And using scissors on her own body to get the baby born.

And WTF was up with the ER docs who presumably examined her the first time when her mom brought her in and she claimed to have had a miscarriage?? Did they even DO an exam?? WTF? Yes, there would be EVIDENCE that a 14yo birthed a 9 1/2 # baby.

KZ -- not only did they do an exam, but prior to releasing her they were investigating their suspicions that she had been brutalyl raped (!!!!!) I'm guessing they were basing that on her gruesome DIY bathroom delivery procedure -- which Good LORD must have hurt at her size. I'm 5'9 and I had a 10lb baby and I was ready to RIP someone's head off during delivery I was in so much pain!!! The notion that she had a full term baby that she was willing to endure the pain to remove herself with such brutal force - to me - shows what extreme lengths she was willing to go to hide and deceive and dispose of this baby.

As to the ER room -- the mother and daughter told the staff she already *had* the baby and that the delivery was a miscarriage that ende up flushed down the toilet -- they were there because of her post-birth bleeding. They lied about how far along she was and made it sound like the miscarriage involved an under-developed fetus. But still -- they could have run tests to show whether her hormone levels matched that of the story they were telling. It just would have taken several days -- not an immediate result as I recall. So they sent her home.

I do have a daughter a few months from her age. I can't *even* imagine thinking she were pregnant, seeing two EP sticks and THEN noticing her extreme weight gain and concealing clothing several months later and NOT do another test IN MY PRESENECE to demand to know what's going on.

I really feel like she contributed to the problem. Had she seized control as any rightful mother would do, this would have been prevented. Think about it - some children die due to complications of childbirth, especially with her small frame. Her daughter could have DIED in that bathroom along with her grandson without proper medical attention. So she bears some responsibility of her own in her failure to protect both lives. I think there is some culpable negligence that was exercised on her part. Her own sisters pressed her often about it -- and one sister even forced the mother to administer the EP test. Her own mother didn't do it -- it was the aunt who insisted that the test be administered. The mom didn't want to do it. And evidently, Theresa Goodson and Cassidy Goodson lived with Cassidy's aunt (Theresa's sister) -- so the aunts were seeing something that Theresa were refusing to see and they were raising the issue to her regularly with Theresa refusing to face the situation.

Geez....who else does this remind us of? Mother of pregnant teen daughter who doesn't want to be pregnant goes into complete denial about her daughter being pregnant. Do I even need to name the infamous mother??

As to murder charges... well, being a female and a mom I had an initial reaction -- but I've since changed. If I were the mother of a teen son who was being tried as an adult for doing something fatal to another child, I'd be pretty hacked off that this girl would be given sexual preferential treatment due to gender.

Fair is fair in the juvenile system. If the same crime committed by a 14 yr old boy would have been met with adult charges, then why should this be any different. And I almost guarantee the sympathy for a boy having committed murder by strangulation of an infant would NOT be tempered or tolerated by any poster here !!!!

I feel she made a grave error with the help of her useless denial mom -- I'm torn about what the charge should be, but I feel adamant that the charge should be no less or different than had a boy committed it.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/article/277054/8/14-year-old-accused-of-murder-looked-different-in-court

I'm a little confused -- she's been in jail this whole time, no?? How did her hair go from brown to hot pink? Do they do this in juvie?? wasn't aware they could alter their appearance like that.

And why would she want to??? oh.... i guess to show how " ~unstable~" she is... I get it.

While I don't condone this crime, I do believe that this teens actions need to be viewed in the correct context.

The biggest mistakes were that she chose to hide the pregnancy and that her mother took her denials at face value and believed her, which of course meant she faced this ordeal without the support that she desperately needed.

This was a 14 yo who was likely petrified, driven by fear and believed she had few options. I'm guessing that at that point in time and after going through a horrific labour and birth process on her own, that her emotional state was such that all she wanted to do was get rid of the baby so that she could resume her old life. The story doesn't say much ito the type of person she is, but I don't see her as callous and evil killer - I see her as a young teen who is likely emotionally immature, was driven by fear and who believed she didn't have many choices.

That said, I also don't believe that another 14 yo in the same situation would kill their baby and many would likely break the secret of their pregnancy the moment they went into labour. So I don't know what a suitable punishment would be. In one way I feel that you don't get to just end a life and walk away and in another way I feel that this teen unwittingly placed herself in a position that she was far too young and immature to deal with on her own ... and she dealt with it in the worst possible way.

She absolutely should be charged as an adult. She's 14 years old and knows the difference between right and wrong. We as a society, have got to make kids understand that if they commit a crime, they have to be prepared to face the consequences. Too many times we let these offenders off scott free and in the long run, we are not doing them any favours. They grow up believing they can do whatever they want, that the rules/laws don't apply to them, they expect everything to be handed to them on a plate without having to work for a living and most if not all/ will re-offend at some level.I am sick and tired of seeing kids literally get away with murder! And just look at the look of defiance on her face standing there in court, at least she had the good grace to not try and evoke sympathy from the do gooders out there, by turning on the tears.

hello clarice wrote:She absolutely should be charged as an adult. She's 14 years old and knows the difference between right and wrong. We as a society, have got to make kids understand that if they commit a crime, they have to be prepared to face the consequences. Too many times we let these offenders off scott free and in the long run, we are not doing them any favours. They grow up believing they can do whatever they want, that the rules/laws don't apply to them, they expect everything to be handed to them on a plate without having to work for a living and most if not all/ will re-offend at some level.I am sick and tired of seeing kids literally get away with murder! And just look at the look of defiance on her face standing there in court, at least she had the good grace to not try and evoke sympathy from the do gooders out there, by turning on the tears.

I fully agree that she knows right from wrong and the fact that she hid the dead baby strongly indicates that she did. However, I don't believe that a 14yo in this situation fully comprehends the consequences of their actions in the same way that an adult does.

If she found herself in the same situation at the age of 18 then the chances are that she might have handled it differently and the outcome could have been different. Of course, I can't say that for sure because I don't know her.

I think that this 14 year old girl didn't get pregnant by herself. She was left to deal with the "problem" by herself. Yes she knew murdering the infant was wrong. When I was little, I felt horrible if I stepped (fatally) upon a snail. However, why was this 14 year old so desparate that she didn't feel she had any other recourse. After all, a 14 year old is a "minor child". Was she 13 when she conceived? Would that be statutory rape?

Casey Anthony was 22 years old when she duct taped Caylee's airways. This 14 year old murdered her infant immediately. Casey Anthony (in her defense) made adoption arrangements for Caylee before Caylee was born. Cindy put a stop to that. Casey was going to adopt out Caylee to Kiomarie, a childhood friend of Casey's who happened to be infertile.

Casey Anthony felt she could go to her mother Cindy, a Registered Nurse, and explain she wanted to give her baby up for adoption. Cindy put a stop to that.

Why did this 14 year old not feel she could take this newborn to her own mother and say she wanted to adopt the baby out to a deserving home?

Why was this 14 year old having a baby?

Can we blame the 14 year old who obviously suffers a lack of parental supervision?

Stolat wrote:http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/article/277054/8/14-year-old-accused-of-murder-looked-different-in-court

I'm a little confused -- she's been in jail this whole time, no?? How did her hair go from brown to hot pink? Do they do this in juvie?? wasn't aware they could alter their appearance like that.

And why would she want to??? oh.... i guess to show how " ~unstable~" she is... I get it.

The picture of the girl with pink hair is not Cassidy! If you click on that picture you can see other mug shots and that's what it says above/or below that picture.

sitemama wrote:

Stolat wrote:http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/article/277054/8/14-year-old-accused-of-murder-looked-different-in-court

I'm a little confused -- she's been in jail this whole time, no?? How did her hair go from brown to hot pink? Do they do this in juvie?? wasn't aware they could alter their appearance like that.

And why would she want to??? oh.... i guess to show how " ~unstable~" she is... I get it.

The picture of the girl with pink hair is not Cassidy! If you click on that picture you can see other mug shots and that's what it says above/or below that picture.

Weird -- the link goes to an article that has since changed it's title and content. The original title was "14-year-old Cassidy Goodson, accused of murdering her newborn baby, looked different in court" (in fact the title still shows up in Google with this associated link. So I think they goofed and posted the wrong mug shot of the pink haired gal. Okay - so no pink hair. The girl did look eerily similar though, but a little older.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/05/cassidy-goodson-tried-as-adult-baby_n_1943159.html?utm_source=concierge&utm_medium=onsite&utm_campaign=sailthru%2Bslider%2B

http://www.newschief.com/article/20121007/NEWS/121009984/-1/opinion?Title=Mom-Teen-didn-t-know-she-was-pregnant

LAKELAND - The mother of a 14-year-old girl charged with killing her newborn son said Wednesday neither she nor her daughter knew the girl was pregnant.

"I know she had a period every month and she did not gain a lot of weight," Teresa Goodson said.


Wow. Both her aunts claim the mother has been in complete denial the whole time and they often questioned the mother (Theresa) about Cassidy's very sudden weight gain and unusual change in clothing to large baggy, hot garments during the summertime, when otherwise she would wear revealing clothing. Basically they knew -- they all knew. The fact that this mother refused -- and still refuses -- to acknowlege the truth shows how dysfunctional this family was. Cassidy also reportedly told other students in school about her pregnancy and sought out the advice of other teen moms as to what delivery was like.

This will all come to light in trial, I'm sure. I suppose we'll see most of this as the docs will be made public.

More moronics from the mother:
She said she knew her daughter menstruated because "I washed out her clothes every week."

Good Lord this woman's an idiot!!!!!! I spotted regularly with my first pregancy. At first I worried, but doc said this was normal. That was NOT a sign of menstruation -- that was bleeding associated to the pregnancy. So she based her whole assessment of pregnancy on whether or not her clothes were soiled????? (Biting my tongue....!!!) I keep forgetting there are such people in the world.... ugggh!

Simple answer folks - when in doubt, administer the EPT yourself or take the kid to the dr.'s office - don't rely on spotted clothes to give you your answer. Why would you ever hand an EPT stick to a child and hope they do it right and not oversee the process???? This is confounding.

Stolat, I've come to realise that despite hard facts and logic dictating otherwise, some - if not most - families make a conscious decision to believe what is less painful. It seems easier to ignore the facts rather than alter their view of their loved one. Cases in point being Cindy Ant, Karen Baker, etc, etc.

If nothing else this mother lacked insight. My eldest sister fell pregnant at the age of 17 yo in her last year of school. I'll never forget my mother, my sister and I were drying dishes after Sunday lunch and despite that my sis was less than 3 months pregnant and wasn't showing at all - my mother asked her if she was pregnant. My mother was suspicious because my sisters food preferences had changed. To cut a long story short my sister answered that she thought so, but didn't know for sure. A few tupperware containers clanged on the kitchen floor and the next day my mom took my sister to a doctor who confirmed the pregnancy.

Based on the aunts input, either this mother was in denial or didn't have a close relationship with her daughter; which is a pity, as with the correct support the ending would likely have been different.

I have worked in a facility for street youth. One of the young girls who was a resident there (well actually several of the girls) was 15 and was pregnant. She was thrown out by her family because of being pregnant and disowned. Parents despite our persistent attempts to reconcile the family were adamant that they had no daughter. This was based on some archaic religious beliefs. They believed that because the daughter knew better and was raised in this religion that she had chosen to turn her back on the family and God by participating in sexual behaviour, she had been raped and was undergoing counselling for the trauma from it. This girl had a strong conviction that she needed to carry the pregnancy to term.

I am sharing this story in an effort to shed some different perspective to how some families react. I do not know what specifically this family (mothers) issue is/was, But I will state that 14 year olds sometimes do not have a clear understanding of the consequences of their actions or are they able to comprehend the responses of their parental figures. The relationship with this mother and daughter seems unusual at best. It may well have been that Cassidy based on her mother's denial (there may have been things said by the mother in denying the situation) that lead Cassidy to believe that her mother may have reacted drastically and hence her fear may have been irrational.

All of that being said, I do believe that at most, her fear is a moderating factor. A child was still murdered and that child should have had the right to live. Had the mother been a good parent and not denied the situation they could have discussed things like adoption etc.. Do I think that Cassidy should be charged?.. Yes... What do I think the sentence should be?.. I am not clear on that. Do I think the mother should be charged? Yes... some form of Child endangerment! Should the person who got Cassidy pregnant have some culpability? Yes!

JMOO

I’d like to thank everyone who responded to this thread, and thank you for sharing your thoughts. I have been pondering this case for several days now, and have come to some conclusions of my own.

I am typically a “hard a$$” where child murderers are concerned. But I have come to the conclusion that all child murderers are not in the same category for me.

Tyler Hadley (17yo Port St. Lucie, FL teen who bludgeoned his parents to death with a hammer, then had a drug fueled house party), and Casey Anthony, are not in the same category of teen mothers who murder their infants at the time of birth. Their motives, psychology, maturity, and social situations are not equivalent. And more than that, a 14yo is not the same as a 16 yo or an 18 yo. Judgement and decision making are the LAST parts of the frontal lobe to develop, which doesn’t happen till early 20s for most. (My husband and I regularly joke that our 11yo has a big void, or a bubble where her frontal lobe will be someday.)

I have followed the case of Cristian Fernandez closely-- the 12 yo who killed his 2yo brother wrestling, and is being charged with first degree murder and aggravated child abuse as an adult. AND-- compelled to register as a sex offender for life! By Angela Corey-- the same prosecutor in the George Zimmerman case. I don't believe Cristian Fernandez should be charged as an adult either. It is really disturbing to read that he is thriving in jail awaiting trial-- the first structured environment this kid has ever had. And he IS a kid, not an adult.Adult attention, accountability, regular meals, clean clothes, schooling-- how screwed up is the environment of a kid who thrives in jail? His own mother was raped as a young teen, AND she is also the product of a rape. Generations of social and criminal dysfunction.

Cassidy was in a horrible social situation, with a mother and other adults whom she felt she could not trust or turn to. She was not 16 or 18 or 20—she was just a very confused teen in a horrible crisis situation, and probably not very bright, either. The adults in her living situation were not beacons of help, hope, or refuge.

We have no idea how she became pregnant, but it seems to me that if a 14 yo cannot consent to sex legally, then a pregnant 14 yo should also not be held to the same standards as an adult. Similarly, I have a hard time with emancipation for pregnant teens under 16 or 17—they simply do not have the physical or emotional maturity, or decision making skills, for themselves at that age, let alone decision making for a human infant.

IMO, there is a big difference between murder of a newborn who is still attached by the umbilical cord, and murder of a newborn hours, days, or weeks later. This very young teen (middle school), just 100 pounds herself, birthed a nearly 10 pound baby in her bathroom, and used scissors to pry the baby from her body. The newborn was 10% of her entire body weight. Now, if that isn’t a crisis situation, I don’t know what is. Yes, she did her darndest to conceal the pregnancy, birth, and dead baby. Yes, she admits to strangling the life from the newborn. Yes, she should be held accountable for that. And so should her POS “mother”, who, imo should be charged at a minimum with child neglect, and endangerment. Absolutely the POS mother knew Cassidy was pregnant. She is twirling and dancing with denial.

I believe Cassidy should be accountable as a juvenile for her actions. If I were on a jury for her case, I could not vote to find her guilty of aggravated child abuse or first degree murder. Life in prison for a 14 yo, imo, is not a just sentence for this situation or this crime.

KZ wrote:I’d like to thank everyone who responded to this thread, and thank you for sharing your thoughts. I have been pondering this case for several days now, and have come to some conclusions of my own.
(snipped)
IMO, there is a big difference between murder of a newborn who is still attached by the umbilical cord, and murder of a newborn hours, days, or weeks later. t sentence for this situation or this crime.

In my opinion, murder is murder..... you can't murder just a little any more than you can murder a lot.

And I hope she stays behind bars long enough not to to procreate. We've already seen how effective her own biomom is - she doesn't seem to have any different legacy. It is the fairest thing to any unborn child not to have her as a mother. I know that's harsh but I've had it with idiot people and lack of consequences in our society.

KZ, I too have mixed feelings regarding the 12 yo who killed his 2 yo brother. In one sense his crimes are terrible as he not only killed his brother, he also sexually assaulted a 5 yo. My gut instinct is that at this time is that it is not good enough for this child to be set free as he is a danger to society.

In another sense though, he is only 12 yo and the thought that he could go to prison for life doesn't sit well with me. He is only a child and is acting out the only behaviour he knows. No one can tell me that this child has a comparable value system to that of an average 12 yo. IMO he is treating others as he has been treated. This child's history is appalling and he has been exposed to every kind of hurt there is ... and now the system wants to throw him in a cell for the rest of his life.

I realise that there aren't any easy answers but IMO the ideal would be for this child to be removed from society and placed in a safe environment where he can be given the chance of being rehabilitated.

Personally, I don't want him living next door to me and having contact with my daughters ... but in the same token, he deserves more from the justice system than to lose his freedom forever.

Gia wrote:KZ, I too have mixed feelings regarding the 12 yo who killed his 2 yo brother. In one sense his crimes are terrible as he not only killed his brother, he also sexually assaulted a 5 yo. My gut instinct is that at this time is that it is not good enough for this child to be set free as he is a danger to society.

In another sense though, he is only 12 yo and the thought that he could go to prison for life doesn't sit well with me. He is only a child and is acting out the only behaviour he knows. No one can tell me that this child has a comparable value system to that of an average 12 yo. IMO he is treating others as he has been treated. This child's history is appalling and he has been exposed to every kind of hurt there is ... and now the system wants to throw him in a cell for the rest of his life.

I realise that there aren't any easy answers but IMO the ideal would be for this child to be removed from society and placed in a safe environment where he can be given the chance of being rehabilitated.

Personally, I don't want him living next door to me and having contact with my daughters ... but in the same token, he deserves more from the justice system than to lose his freedom forever.

I agree and that's somewhat my point. I remember *exactyly* how I felt at 14 (this girl was a Freshman in High School mind you) -- I did not feel like a naive kid... I did not think or act like a naiver kid nor did any other teenager around me - I absolutely knew right from wrong and I knew murder was murder. I saw movies or TV where people killed people and went to jail -- so I was completely aware of cause & consequence. You have to live under a rock to not know exactly what society thinks of taking another's life and what the consequences are. Anway -- the point is that thes youths got to where they are with no thanks to or help from their immediate guardians - -their parents. We have living proof of how effective the parents have been in these cases -- so given a choice for these teens -- they are better off somewhere where they will be off the streets, where they were making murderous choices and obviously receiving no guidance from home. They are either better off in the system long enough for them to not become a threat or somewhere where we can guarantee they will not be allowed or tolerated to steal another person's life ever again. When left in the care of their parents, they were and still will be a threat to society.

I agree Stolat. I remember that age and my girls are 15 and when they heard this story it made no sense to them. It seems as though her entire plan was to conceal and lie about it till she could make it not exist. She said she didn't want her relationship to change with her parents so was it a good relationship? We don't know, it might not of been one that we'd chose but might have worked for them. I don't know, dealing with the same age group day in and out I can't feel pity for this girl. And my girls feel the same, she knew exactly what she should of done and what she did instead. Who would dig a baby out of themselves with scissors? Someone that didn't care but wanted it to go away at any cost.

Gia, Stolat, and Bmore-- thanks for your posts and insights. I do agree that the source of many of these kids crimes and behavior is easily traced to the environment they were raised in. To remove a child from custody of a birth parent takes almost a herculean effort, which is probably as it should be, but virtually ensures that these types of crimes and behaviors will be perpetuated. There are an awful lot of people, imo, who simply should not be parents. When I look at what I have had to do, and keep on doing, as an adoptive parent, it just galls me that so many POS bio parents are allowed to keep their kids after they have abused and neglected them over and over. Only adoptive parents are evaluated for suitability for parenting. The amount of social services supervision and home visits an adoptive parent must agree to (5 years, in our situation) far exceeds what scant CPS supervision is given to parents who have lost and regained custody of their kids, or whose kids are caught helpless in an abusive divorce situation.

Abused and neglected kids frequently grow up to be abused/ abusive/ neglectful and highly irresponsible adults, who then continue the cycle with their own offspring. As I don't see any way to prevent these people from procreating, I also don't see any practical approach to ameliorating the circumstances thru our very broken social services and CPS systems. We have to wait until a horrific crime occurs before we can do anything, it seems. Our system is reactive, not proactive.

I agree with stolat and bmore that Cassidy knew what she was doing, but I also don't believe at 14 that her crimes should put her in a cell for life. As in Cristian Fernandez' case, they both need to be removed from society for a period of years. I would favor removal until at least age 25 to 30 for these kinds of offenses by minors, and a lengthy parole and supervision process that continues beyond their release from juvenile custody. Kind of a parallel sentencing system-- a juvenile sentence, but with the potential to be sent back to adult prison if they mess up once released to parole. I think the current juvenile sentencing process isn't enough, but adult sentencing is too much. Because of their very young age, I want to be optimistic enough for the system to be able to truly give them a chance at turning around and becoming productive adults, while I am also jaded enough to know that recidivism is likely.

I also recognize that a 14yo simply does not have the ability to make adult decisions when faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Of course, it is a biological imperative that only females can conceive and carry, and birth, another human life. And perhaps I'm not explaining my thoughts clearly, but to me, that is a completely different situation from a teen age boy killing a newborn baby. She admits that she killed this baby in the process of his birth, which is horrible and inexcusable. She should face consequences for that, but I believe she should face juvenile consequences, not adult sentencing. My concerns lean toward the ability of a young teen to grasp consequences and right and wrong in the throes of labor alone in a bathroom. I just don't think she should go to prison for life for that.

I hope that made sense! I am not at all saying that Cassidy should get a "do over" and just let her go in a couple years.

This is a tricky one to articulate.

I mean the girl had to of know her family was on to her, especially the aunts. If she didn't know her mother's reaction why all the "fear" of letting her know? She kept giving her tests to take? Now if at any point her mom would say stuff like i'll kick your A55 if you are you no good whore then I could see hiding it. Maybe even running away to some where I felt save but not scissors and when that didn't work choking out a newborn and leaving it to rot in your room. I tease my girls which are very anti-boy still (thank God) don't let it happen, protect yourself by not doing it, etc... They know I'd probably be mad/upset/disappointed at first because of all the talks we've had but they know we'd handle the situation. And that i'm a sucker for babies... lol

I didn't read all of the comments here... my mind is still struggling with a few things that hit me so hard when I read the story. After she had killed the baby, she WASHED the body, then she kept the body in her room. She says she killed the baby because she didn't know what to DO with IT.
Why would she bathe the body? Why would she keep the body? Why does she reffer to the baby as "IT"?
Was this pregnancy the result of incest? Was her fear of having to admitt who the father was? The messages seem to me to be very mixed. Bathing and keeping seems to show some desire to care, and yet reffering to the baby as "IT" sounds as if she needed to distance herself. Before charges are filed, it seems to me a whole lot more investigation needs to be done. This little girl has some issues that I cannot believe she is fully responsible for.

Marica wrote:I didn't read all of the comments here... my mind is still struggling with a few things that hit me so hard when I read the story. After she had killed the baby, she WASHED the body, then she kept the body in her room. She says she killed the baby because she didn't know what to DO with IT.
Why would she bathe the body? Why would she keep the body? Why does she reffer to the baby as "IT"?
Was this pregnancy the result of incest? Was her fear of having to admitt who the father was? The messages seem to me to be very mixed. Bathing and keeping seems to show some desire to care, and yet reffering to the baby as "IT" sounds as if she needed to distance herself. Before charges are filed, it seems to me a whole lot more investigation needs to be done. This little girl has some issues that I cannot believe she is fully responsible for.

Hi Marica! They evidentally know who the father most likely is and that he is also a juvenile. I too thought it was quite orderly of her and calculated to know enough to bathe the body to clean it up. She obviously knew what she was going to to do with it -- she knew the body had to be cleaned first before she put it in the cardboard shoebox -- otherwise the blood and bodily birth fluids would seep through the cardboard box.

So your point is well-taken -- I don't believe her that she didn't know what to do with "it" == her careful and sequentially thought-out actions shows she knew exactly what she was going to do with "it". And perhaps her delay in disposal was simply a matter of waiting for the next weekly trash pickup day.

I also have thought a lot about the statement that she feared her relationship might change with her parents. I never once read that she was referring to her close bond -- I immediately also thought she was referring to the fact that her parents obviously didn't make her do much -- hence her mother was in her room straightening up and picking up her laundry and being her personal maid.

I'm sorry, but at 12 my parents started making me and my sisters do Saturday chores, vaccuum, dusting, bathrooms, laundry. Why a 15 yr demands a mother to come to her room and pick up after her is telling right then and there.

My older step-sister got pregnant as a teen. Everything changed for her -- I mean *everything*. She was made to get a part-time job, drop out of dance club, she couldn't sleep in on Saturdays and watch cartoons with the rest of us, she had to start being a small adult. I often felt sorry for her, but she had a child to care for. My parents always told the 3 of us girls that if any of us got pregnant they would always help care for us and the baby but that it would be the end of our cushy "childhood" with them -- we would then be treated like adults. It was their scare tactic and it worked for all but 1 of us. The older sister challenged that -- and so they enforced the consequences. That's when I knew they meant business and it kept me straight.

I feel the change in relationship Cassidy feared may very well likely be that she did not want her mom to quit catering to her. Perhaps she was treated as "the baby" as is evident by her mother doing her chores for her. She didn't want to have to grow up and join the real world. I obviously know nothing and that is just my impression based on the fact that she had a mother completely in denial who was essentially also her personal maid - it sets up a certain picture.

And KZ -- I too think that a lifelong sentence may be extreme. And I thought of your situation whenever I think how unfair it is that some wonderful people who deserve kids don't have them and some who don't deserve kids do horrible things to them. Honestly -- I feel when a parent kills a child I feel just punishment is that they should never ever ever be allowed to be a parent again. So I feel just punishment for Cassidy is that she is detained long enough that she should never be able to have another child.

Stolat... Not meaning to start an argument ... but just because she was fooling around with some boy doesn't mean she hasn't been or wasn't also being molested... I guess I need to know for sure exactly who the father of baby was. Isee your points about bathing the baby... and yet there is someting almost like a love/hate gpoing on there with the killing the baby and yet caring for the body.
If she knew that washing the body would lessen the soaking through of the box, why wouldn;t she know the body would begin to give off odor.. and why would she leave the body where Mom would find it? So much just make sense in my pathetic little mind. You all are always about six miles ahead of me on these things so I try to pay attention to your ideas and thoughts while I attempt to sort things out in my head. As far as what should be done with her.. well, she did strangle the baby, and she sure as crap knew what the hell she was doing and how to do it.. so Yeah.. she needs to do some serious time regarless of what her life was like prior to the birth of the baby. As someone said earlier... this is Hopespring Drive revisited. Mother/daughter/dead baby... and probably a clueless father and daddy of the baby too.

Marica wrote:Stolat... Not meaning to start an argument ... but just because she was fooling around with some boy doesn't mean she hasn't been or wasn't also being molested... I guess I need to know for sure exactly who the father of baby was. Isee your points about bathing the baby... and yet there is someting almost like a love/hate gpoing on there with the killing the baby and yet caring for the body.
If she knew that washing the body would lessen the soaking through of the box, why wouldn;t she know the body would begin to give off odor.. and why would she leave the body where Mom would find it? So much just make sense in my pathetic little mind. You all are always about six miles ahead of me on these things so I try to pay attention to your ideas and thoughts while I attempt to sort things out in my head. As far as what should be done with her.. well, she did strangle the baby, and she sure as crap knew what the hell she was doing and how to do it.. so Yeah.. she needs to do some serious time regarless of what her life was like prior to the birth of the baby. As someone said earlier... this is Hopespring Drive revisited. Mother/daughter/dead baby... and probably a clueless father and daddy of the baby too.

"If she knew that washing the body would lessen the soaking through of the box, why wouldn;t she know the body would begin to give off odor.. "

That one's easy. How many of us as kids have ever spilled a glass of milk on a stack of papers on the kitchen counter?? Almost all of us. Outcome?: The paper gets wet and soggy. Lesson Learned?: Wet substances dissolves paper.

Versus..... how many of us as kids have had a dead baby in our bedroom long enough to realize that it starts to smell when it decomposes ? ......[crickets]

In fact, when I was a kid I went to a lot of funerals of my older deceased relatives. I remember seeing them in the caskets and thinking that they always stayed preserved like that forever - naturally. I had no idea they were full of embalming fluids to stall the decomposition process. I had no idea that without those embalming fluids their corpses would have begun to smell. I think a lot of kids who have ever attended a funeral don't realize that dead people smell if they haven't been treated chemically.

I also think it's a perception difference on the whole bathing scenario -- you see it as caring for the baby -- I see that as impossible considering she sure didn't "care" for the baby as she was jabbing it in the head with a pair of scissors -- enough to cause * 3 2 * contusions to the baby's head (!!!!) (And I can't help but think of the movie Exorcist every time they talk about her using a pair of scissors to extract the baby -- can someone give me a big EEEWWW!)

I see it as ensuring proper disposal and concealment -- she knew wet residues gets paper wet.

On the whole rape scenario -- I never meant to imply that in addition to her admittedly having sexual relations with a juvenile that she was not also being molested. So I have no arguments with you. Clearly the family is F'd up!! We know nothing of that and there has been no info to even suggest that her father is involved --and DNA testing and paternity will solidly be established -- especially since authorities said they already have the juvenile biodad involved in their investigation and have spoken to him. And so in a very short time, this question will be a moot point -- we will know one way or the other who the father is. And even that won't necessarily prove that she was never molested by her father - that could be a whole other can of worms. But because of the Sunshine laws in Florida and the fact that this case will be handled outside of juvie court -- we likely will learn definitively the identify of the father. Unless there's a gag order....

Uh Oh.. I may have used a wrong term.
Is incest ONLY with a parent or sibling?
I probably shouldn't have used that term.
I have this feeling that while Mom denies KNOWING anything, she KNOWS a whole lot more.
Something isn't right there.
Thanks for takingme by the hand and leading me through
the obvious on the decomp issue. I now see where you
all are sixteen miles ahead of me rather than just six. GOD.. I am so dense.

M sons have told me for years that I am too trusting... and I can't comprehend the things people do because I can't think like a criminal. They say the best investigators and police are those with criminal minds who use their abilities for the good rather than the bad. I could quite grasp that either until DP came along, and now, I think I have it. This guy is a criminal who used LE to be able to do crimes and pretend to be a good guy. I'm a regular Little Red Riding Hood when it comes to the bad guys although I did see through DP.. but then he is so transparent a blind person could see through him.

Marica wrote:Uh Oh.. I may have used a wrong term.
Is incest ONLY with a parent or sibling?
I probably shouldn't have used that term.
I have this feeling that while Mom denies KNOWING anything, she KNOWS a whole lot more.
Something isn't right there.
Thanks for takingme by the hand and leading me through
the obvious on the decomp issue. I now see where you
all are sixteen miles ahead of me rather than just six. GOD.. I am so dense.

Yes - incest is family-specific. I agree with you 100%. In general, I think denial involves KNOWING.

Who doesn't trust their daughter enough to give her not ONE but TWO e.p.t. sticks and yet trusts her enough not fake the results -- is this to imply that this wasn't her first time taking a pregnancy test??? She trusted that her daughter knew what she was doing because she's had to do it before??? If not, then what kind of mother hands her kid a pregger stick and hopes she gets it right by herself???

Seems moronic to say "I don't trust you when you tell me you're not pregnant" (hence, handing her the e.p.t. sticks) and yet turn right around and say "I trust you enough to tell me you didn't fake the results"

Doesn't.add.up.

Okay, so I'd wager that come time of the trial, baby girl is going to point the finger at mamma and say mamma was in on it the whole time and helped her fake the tests so that the nosey aunts would get their faces out of mamma's bizness.

@ KZ I really appreciate the time you take to articulate what you are thinking. You always seem to be able to clearly separate what you are thinking and why.

I am so torn about this particular case as I have known 14 year old girls that were very street smart and adult like and ones that were very naive. Even a few that participated in the adult things in life but really had no clue about the consequences. I need more information about this girl before I know what to think.

Cassidy Goodson, 14-Year-Old Mom, Describes Killing Her Newborn In Video Reenactment
Posted: 11/18/2012 12:56 pm EST Updated: 11/18/2012 1:20 pm EST

A police interrogation video shows a high school freshman calmly demonstrating how she strangled her newborn son to death in September, WFTS reported.

Cassidy Goodson, 14, is charged with first-degree murder as an adult for allegedly killing the baby moments after she secretly gave birth in her parents' bathroom.

...In addition to the premeditated murder charge, the Polk County Sheriff's office lists one count of aggravated child abuse. If convicted, Goodson could spend life in prison.

Read more:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/18/cassidy-goodson-14-year-old-mom-kill-newborn_n_2154995.html

Cassidy Goodson, Lakeland teen who strangled her newborn, gets 18 months in plea deal
6:55 PM, Dec 19, 2012

Bartow, Florida -- Eighteen months for murdering her infant son.

That's the sentence Wednesday for the Lakeland teenager who hid her pregnancy and then choked her newborn son to death in September. If she plays her cards right, Cassidy Goodson could be out in time to graduate from High school.

...She was arrested for first degree murder, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.

With the teenager's family looking on, Judge Donald Jacobsen said he was satisfied that Cassidy -- a student with no criminal past -- was unlikely to pose a threat to anyone else.

He said she was "immature" and on Wednesday sentenced Cassidy to at least 18 months in a maximum security facility for juveniles. It'll most likely be the Hillsborough Girls Academy.

Read more:  http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/287919/250/Lakeland-teen-who-strangled-her-newborn-gets-18-months

Moving from Developing Stories to Closed.