<p>This is a really sad story. Two years after losing her husband, a local mayor kills her rising college freshman daughter and herself. It angers me on one level that she refused to carry out the mandate of all parents:loving her child, protecting her from harm, and preparing her to be a productive, independent human being. Instead, she chose to end her daughter’s life rather than live alone. The more compassionate part of me realizes this woman was probably severely depressed after the death of her husband and had gotten to the point that logical, rational behavior just wasn’t possible for her without professional intervention. It underlines the importance of getting treatment for our minds and spirits as well as our bodies. It is tragic that she either did not reach out for help or that the help that was provided was not enough to prevent this horrible outcome.</p>
<p>Such a tragic story. I can’t imagine something so horrible. The mother was obviously suffering from mental instability, whether it was deep depression or something else. My heart goes out to their family and friends.</p>
<p>There just are no words to describe how horrific this is. I feel for the the remaining family members and friends who are somehow wondering if they missed something. The mother was obviously deeply depressed but that does not explain how she took her daughters life instead of just her own. The pain of this tragedy is numbing…many blessings for all of those whose lives were touched by this family.</p>
<p>momma-three, I had that same thought. It’s almost a variation on the “if I can’t have you, no one will” theme that we often see when a person decides to leave a spouse or lover.</p>
<p>OK–to all the theorists out there, the news today says the mayor was about to be investigated for unauthorized charges to her gov’t credit card.</p>
<p>They had asked her several times for explanations/receipts for certain charges, the last time just a few hours before she killed herself & her daughter.</p>
<p>This thread is emblematic of the female sexism that is routinely expressed on this board. When a male commits a horrible crime he is universally castigated, but when a female commits the same crime the regulars come out to explain away the act as being outside the woman’s control and thus diminishing the fault of the offender. BS.</p>
<p>I highly doubt that the mother killed her child due to fearing an empty nest. If that was the mother’s concern, the mother always could have decided not to pay for the child to go away to college.</p>
<p>I bet that there is some kind of serious mental illness or other major problem behind this tragedy.</p>
<p>Financial problems seem to be a growing possibility in this case. In addition to the credit card misuse that someone posted above - their house was in foreclosure.</p>
<p>"The two-story Peters house in the 700 block of Greenway Drive was posted for foreclosure last July, according to Foreclosure Listing Service.</p>
<p>Rebecca Roddy, marketing director for the Addison company, said the house in the Waterside Estates neighborhood never made it to auction.</p>
<p>Roddy said several actions can get a home out of foreclosure.</p>
<p>“Most properties don’t make it to auction these days,” Roddy said. “The bank pulls it because the owner makes a payment or files for bankruptcy protection.”</p>
<p>A public-records search found no indication that Jayne Peters had filed for bankruptcy. Roddy said Donald and Jayne Peters took out a $283,500 mortgage loan in 1998. Donald Peters died in 2008."</p>
<p>The college question is the strangest piece of this puzzle. Can’t understand how both colleges say she never applied, while she was telling people she was accepted.</p>
<p>I saw an article today that the mom’s suicide note mentioned that she and her daughter never got over the death of the husband/father and were still depressed and “lost.” The article also mentioned financial problems and possible unauthorized credit card use.</p>
<p>So sad and shocking and disturbing in many ways. Sounds like a desperate woman in a desperate situation. I cannot even imagine the depths of her depression.</p>
<p>But were both of them severely depressed? I get the mother - widowed, financial problems, perhaps some health problems as well, daughter about to go off to college - that is all tragic of course, but I get it. The daughter is where I am stuck. So, she really didn’t apply to college? Just told her friends she was accepted at TCU and later UT when in fact she had never applied? Was it more of a suicide pact? It just gets more and more bizarre.</p>
<p>None of the financial problems, even the potential for being audited for possible abuse of employment credit card really explains why the mother took her daughter’s life rather than just ending her own life. When the news first broke that Corinne had been scheduled to attend UT orientation several times but had to cancel due to her mother’s “doctor’s appts.,” it did lend credence to the thought that her mother could just not accept her daughter leaving home. Now, it’s anybody’s guess what was going on. Obviously some depression playing into this, but with the revelations about possible credit card abuse and doubts that the daughter ever applied to college, the possibility of a suicide pact does have to be considered. </p>
<p>Still very sad. I’m sure the family wants some answers about why this happened. I hope they get them.</p>
<p>The above is apparently an excerpt from one of the notes left by the mother. You could take it at face value; you could also find this to be a transparent attempt to justify her actions. I don’t know…very disturbing that this woman didn’t seek help for herself and her daughter if things had gotten this hopeless.</p>
<p>I read today that the authorities are believing that the mother killed her daughter almost 24 hours before she committed suicide. Also, that the daughter really believed she was going to UT. Speculation is that the mother, a somewhat helicopterish type, said she sent the application off and said that she received the acceptance, but that none of that was true, for either UT or TCU. The daughter had loaded her car with stuff that morning- neighbors saw. Shortly afterward, the mom came out and unloaded the car. Then the mom drove off and was seen a few hours later walking back home. The car, by the way, everyone thought was a hs graduation present, was really a rental, which the mom returned to Avis that morning. </p>
<p>While there may have been a suicide pact- I’m leaning more toward a mom who couldn’t tell her daughter how bad off financially they were and wove quite a tale of deception. As the final time approached for the daughter to leave, she couldn’t bear the deception to come to light.</p>
<p>reading what she stated about her daughter being inconsolable in the suicide note does not fit in my opinion, with a young woman packing up her car for college and telling all her friends about her college plans. shooting one’s own daughter in the head seems a particularly violent way to complete a supposed suicide pact. very disturbing</p>
<p>I wonder if she shot the daughter in the head and wrote the note trying to make it look like the daughter committed suicide. It took her 24hrs to realize what she had done, that she wouldn’t get away with it and then shoots herself. I also wonder if after the daughter packed her car and was ready to leave, the mom finally confessed the truth about the college applications/acceptances and the daughter threaten to tell everyone and leave anyway, and that was too much for the mom to accept. All speculation and we will never know what really happened.</p>
<p>wow - this gets increasingly bizarre. I can kind of see how the mom said she would submit the completed app - and just never did. But the daughter never asked to see her acceptance letter? Never went on-line to register for housing or classes? That just seems so unbelievable. Those of us who have college freshman or sophomores can testify as to how much communication goes on in the months between April and August - between the college and the incoming student. She was going to go to TCU, or so she thought, with many other students from her hs. Wouldn’t there have been conversations about housing, meal plans, forms, etc., that would prompt Corrinne to communicate with the school - either electronically or by phone? It just makes no sense to me that she really believed she was accepted. Although, if she was a very sheltered only child whose mother did everything for her - maybe she would not have known that things did not seem right with the college piece of this?</p>
<p>I don’t think it was a suicide pact after reading this article. It seems more and more to me that this was the result of financial woes more than anything else. One of Corinne’s friends describes her as being very gullible. So, I guess she did believe the college acceptance news her mother told her without seeing anything further. And I’m guessing she just thought she was supposed to show up at orientation - which kept getting postponed by her mother’s “doctor appts”. The new car she was driving - that was supposedly a graduation gift - was actually a rental. And it seems that after killing her daughter, the mother had the presence of mind to return the rental car, before she killed herself.</p>