6-Year-Old Commits Suicide, Medical Examiner Says

[PhiLandShiR 18]

(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.

[Nagishkaw 510]

The poor little dear! I have no words for this.

[_Simpson_ 250]

I smell foul play. I doubt a 6yr old could bring herself to doing this but then again stranger things have happened. Mary Bell the 10yr old serial killer comes to mind.

[PhiLandShiR 18]

The poor little dear! I have no words for this.

I know... its very sad.

One thing to learn from this, I guess, is that parents need to pay attention to what their children say.

[nane1104 146]

That is almost to much to even wrap ypur mind around. That a young child would have thoughts of killing herself, talk about it and do it- over an argument with her mother!?

I don't know. I don't even know if I really want to think about it.

But I agree 100%- you need to pay attention to what your child is talking about no matter how absurd it might sound.

WOW!

[Niels Bohr 72]

Can a 6 year old tie a strong enough knot?

[PhiLandShiR 18]

Can a 6 year old tie a strong enough knot?

would not take much of a knot. not a lot of weight there...

[mawilson 2,133]

If only we had universal healthcare, we could have prevented this senseless tragedy.

[thongd4me 69]

Can a 6 year old tie a strong enough knot?

I think so.

If the belt was thin and long the kid could secure it to the railing

without too much trouble and use the buckle end as a noose.

The report that the parents had warned her against playing with

belts in such a way probably made the belt an "attractive nusiance"

because it was in the category of something that was prohibited.

The child was probably too young to understand the meaning and

permanent effect of death. If her idea of death is "when someone

doesn't move any more" she might think that would be a viable

way to get revenge, not understanding how permanent that is.

Also a child might be frightened by seeing "dramatic" death on TV

and be told by parents "oh they're not really dead, they're actors."

Then the idea forms that death is something that people can play at.