Mother Who Tried To Kill Her Autistic Daughter Talks To Dr. Phil

Dr. Phil: Mother Tries To Kill Her Autistic Daughter

Dr. Phil sat down with Kelli Stapleton on his show, the mother who was arrested and plead guilty to a first-degree child abuse charge for attempting to kill herself and her daughter. Dr. Phil had the conversation with her in the county jail where Kelli Stapleton was incarcerated. Kelli Stapleton faces life in prison.

Kelli Stapleton and her daughter Issy were found unconscious from carbon monoxide poisoning in their vehicle in a deserted area with two charcoal grills burning in the sealed-off vehicle. Although both survived, doctors think Issy might have permanent brain damage.

Dr. Phil: Why Did She Kill Her Autistic Daughter?

Dr. Phil started the interview with a point blank question: did Kelli Stapleton try to kill her daughter?

“I would say no. On September 3rd, we were going to go to Heaven together. It wasn’t the end. It was the beginning,” she said. I have two problems with this statement. One, there’s no way Kelli was going to Heaven, since she was murdering her autistic daughter. Two, the only way to get to Heaven is to die, so basically, Kelli is saying that yes, she tried to kill her daughter. Kelli is clearly lying to herself.

Kelli said that Issy’s aggression often targeted her sister. Kelli said she couldn’t keep her other daughter safe anymore. She said her other daughter “deserved to grow up free of this violence from her sister”. Kelli said she would keep her “safe by leaving with Isabelle”. By “leaving”, of course, you know she means killing herself and Issy.

“When she got up that morning I said, ‘We’re going to go camping, Issy, you and I. And we’re gonna make s’mores. And we’re gonna cuddle,'” she said.

She drove with Issy out to a remote place and started two portable grills burning in the van. She laid down with Issy in the bed in the back of the van with all of the doors closed and the grills inside.

“I just looked at her and I said, ‘I love you, Issy, and I’ll see you on the other side in just a little bit.’ And I went to sleep,” Kelli said.

Dr. Phil: Autistic Daughter’s Aggression

Kelli said that her daughter Issy’s aggression was also targeted at her. The bigger and stronger she got, the worse it got. Issy had given Kelli a black eye in the past and has knocked her out twice. One time Kelli was driving and Issy tried to grab the wheel and was pulling on Kelli’s hair. Kelli said she pulled over and called her husband. Issy knocked out Kelli and when Kelli’s husband arrived, he found Kelli unconscious.

“She’s so trapped in this aggression. She’s just a little girl. She doesn’t want to hurt her mom. She doesn’t want to hurt her sister,” she said.

Unlike Kelli, who actively tried to murder her daughter.