SC Mom Allegedly Kills Son, 6, with Hunting Rifle to “Send” Him to “Heaven”

This is absolutely tragic.

A mother in South Carolina allegedly killed her six-year-old son because “she wanted to send the victim to heaven.”

According to The Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County, 31-year-old Mary Amelia Rosborough had just returned from a hunting trip on Thanksgiving Day. About an hour after she shot a deer, she returned home and went to change her clothes. It was then that she used the same rifle to shoot her own son. After the gunshot went off in the house, her brother got to her as she was trying to reload the weapon and tackled her to the ground, restraining her until more help could arrive.

The child was pronounced dead not long after arriving at the hospital.

There’s no indication of any mental health problems. Her brother told the local paper that, while she was dealing with some issues, no one had any reason to believe she was a threat to the family much less someone who would kill her own child.

“She was trying to resolve her issues,” [Will Rosborough] said. “This was not something we expected would happen. It was the most unexpected tragedy I could have ever imagined. Nothing was going on to make this happen. Nothing was wrong.

“She and my daddy had been deer hunting and she killed a doe. She got home and everything seemed fine. Then it happened,” Will Rosborough said of the shooting.

“She was not a bad girl. She was sweet, and loves that boy. [Christmas] presents come in the mail every day that she ordered for him. She was trying to get help. We just didn’t know how bad her issues were.”

It’s not clear what her beliefs about God were, exactly, or if her supposed motive was the actual reason she pulled the trigger. An investigation is ongoing. For now, Rosborough is in the Fairfield County jail where she’s charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. She faces anywhere from 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

(via Law & Crime. Thanks to @FaithfulAthei5t for the link)