Toddler mother took to police was strangled, mother arrested

Toddler Taken To Police Station Was Strangled

A toddler whose body was carried into a police station by his mother had been strangled.

The body of two-year-old Christy Ruddell was taken into a County Durham police station by his mother, Melanie, on Monday.

The 39-year-old, was described by neighbours as a loving mother, was arrested shortly afterwards.

She is understood to have split from her husband, Alan, a few months ago after three years of marriage.

Although the toddler and his mother have not been formally identified, they were named locally by friends in Castle Eden, near Peterlee.

Police said the mother had injuries to her arms which were thought to have been self-inflicted and she had been taken to hospital for treatment where she remains.

Detective Superintendent Adrian Green, who is leading the investigation, said a post-mortem examination was carried out at Sunderland Royal Hospital.

"This is a tragic incident which obviously has left both families concerned extremely shocked and distressed," he said.

"We believe the boy was already dead for some time before he and his mother arrived at the police station.

"At this stage we are still in the process of establishing what happened on Monday morning, and a major part of our investigation involves determining the exact location where the death took place.

"While we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the murder, we would like to hear from anyone who has information which might be useful."

Another neighbour said: "She was a lovely, lovely person. Something very unfortunate must have happened.

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RIP little baby.

WTF is wrong with people?

Another poor little mite!
Sleep tight, little one xx

I will keep saying this It is time that any and all prospective parents were vetted as they do adoptive and foster parents before they are allowed to get pregnant or have a child. That in the event of divorce the child's welfare comes first and foremost and regular weekly checks are performed on the children to check for signs of neglect or abuse. any prospective step parent must be vetted as well before being allowed to move in with the child.
It is time we started putting the kids welfare first and foremost>
Time and time again we children the innocent victims of abusive parents and step parents, the pawns ina vicious divorce where they are used as a bargaining tool by one parent or another, where they think if i can't have them nobody can. where children seems to come second to the selfish behavior of the parents . They say she was a loving mother but clearly she wasn't or she would not have killed her child.
Yet again divorce rears its ugly head. was it a messy divorce as seems likely? was one partner denied access to the child and felt they had to snatch what time they could? was she worried she might lose custody?
no loving parent would ever hurt their child, a loving parent would ask for help if they couldn't cope, if she had fears then she could have talked to her family, friends even the samaritans.
Was it a case of she didn't want the husband to have access to the baby regardless and that if he got visitation rights it would have upset her applecart so she figured out kill the child then no one can have him.
Another poor innocent victim of selfish parents who should never have had children but stuck with a pet rock

She was a lovely, lovely person. Something very unfortunate must have happened....yes....SHE LOST IT!

IN A FIT OFF ANGER, NO DOUBT.

My God, what a darn shame. If I live to be a hundred I will NEVER understand
parents harming their children, and to do it to get 'back' at the other parent is
wholly beyond me. RIP Sweetie.

I still cant get over that women in france smothering 8 off her newborn children and she was a nurse!


Now theres another women somewhere who has hid 4 or 5 off her kids in the freezer..babies!!!

kitti wrote:I still cant get over that women in france smothering 8 off her newborn children and she was a nurse!


Now theres another women somewhere who has hid 4 or 5 off her kids in the freezer..babies!!!

And the Australian water polo champion who hid 5 pregnancies: first two pregnancies terminated, second two babies adopted, fifth child an induced birth so that she could attend a friend's wedding. She left the hospital on the day of the wedding with a two-day-old baby, a little girl, who disappeared between Keli's leaving the hospital and turning up at her parents' house to get ready for the wedding. She has been charged with murder, although no body has been found.

http://fw.farmonline.com.au/news/metro/national/general/keli-lane-accused-no-time-for-five-babies/1908436.aspx

Oh my god, why do these women have babies if they are going to murder them.

hobnob wrote:I will keep saying this It is time that any and all prospective parents were vetted as they do adoptive and foster parents before they are allowed to get pregnant or have a child. That in the event of divorce the child's welfare comes first and foremost and regular weekly checks are performed on the children to check for signs of neglect or abuse. any prospective step parent must be vetted as well before being allowed to move in with the child.
It is time we started putting the kids welfare first and foremost>
Time and time again we children the innocent victims of abusive parents and step parents, the pawns ina vicious divorce where they are used as a bargaining tool by one parent or another, where they think if i can't have them nobody can. where children seems to come second to the selfish behavior of the parents . They say she was a loving mother but clearly she wasn't or she would not have killed her child.
Yet again divorce rears its ugly head. was it a messy divorce as seems likely? was one partner denied access to the child and felt they had to snatch what time they could? was she worried she might lose custody?
no loving parent would ever hurt their child, a loving parent would ask for help if they couldn't cope, if she had fears then she could have talked to her family, friends even the samaritans.
Was it a case of she didn't want the husband to have access to the baby regardless and that if he got visitation rights it would have upset her applecart so she figured out kill the child then no one can have him.
Another poor innocent victim of selfish parents who should never have had children but stuck with a pet rock

It is easy to feel emotional, as you do hobnob, but how would the vetting work? It would be like alot of things, sounds like a good idea but impossible to police such a policy.

Parents who plan to have children could indeed put themselves forward for vetting/parenting classes.

What about those who do not plan to have a child? My sister and her partner had two unplanned babies and they are brilliant parents.

Any vetting would only be as good as the day it was carried out anyway. If, a few years later, one of the parents 'cracked up' that would be an impossibility to predict such behaviour.

People moan about lone parents, but it seems to me that its the kiddies who have two parents, whose relationship has turned sour, who are in danger the most.

Lone parents and two parent families either on benefits or in low paid work, can make a good job of bringing up their children and those that do not, its usually crime related problems that their offspring get themselves involved in and has much to do with the areas and schools they grow up with, but their offspring are not generally in danger of being murdered themselves unless its gang related.

On the other hand children brought up by well off couples/professional couples, do not always turn out well loved, well mannered or polite. They are often ignored by their busy career minded parents, or have access to too much money for drugs, or are allowed to use 'daddy's car' to speed around in.

I know I am generalising an awful lot here, but what I am trying to say is I believe the majority of children are loved, really loved, whether they were planned or unplanned and whether the parent/s were vetted or unvetted, and no matter whether they come from poorer families or wealthier families.

However, should a parent crack up, that cannot be foreseen, not by anyone.

The only members of society whose behaviour can be foreseen are known paedophiles, and perhaps an exception could be made in their case, because they can never change IMO, and should never be allowed to father children.

The other category whose behaviour can, perhaps, be foreseen are women/men with known mental health problems/drug/alcohol misuse problems/or a history of child abuse, who risk having their children taken away from them and placed in care from the off. But, even then, in the eyes of the law everyone deserves another chance and these people have the right to prove they have changed their lifestyle dramatically and can provide a good home and they can fight for the return of their children. Its a matter for the Family Courts to decide.

However, at the end of the day making babies and having babies is a natural function and cannot be 'controlled'. There would be Human Rights issues as well.

Do we really want to be like China and limit parents to one child only? That would lead to far more child murder. I know the Chinese did this for different reasons, but outcomes would be similar. Lives would be put at risk with women hiding their pregnancies and not getting the medical help they are entitled to, thereby not giving the unborn child the appropriate care, or disposing of children at birth.

No, it is always a tragedy when children are murdered/abused, but I do believe those families and children are in the minority, and the majority are cherished.

hobnob wrote:I will keep saying this It is time that any and all prospective parents were vetted as they do adoptive and foster parents before they are allowed to get pregnant or have a child. That in the event of divorce the child's welfare comes first and foremost and regular weekly checks are performed on the children to check for signs of neglect or abuse. any prospective step parent must be vetted as well before being allowed to move in with the child.
It is time we started putting the kids welfare first and foremost>

But the real problem with that is that many of the people who neglect, harm or even kill their children would sail through any vetting procedure with ease, as it's almost impossible to be able to tell in advance what kind of parents they'll make. Many people have children but seem totally unprepared for the demands of looking after young children, not wanting their own lifestyle to change. For example, who would have thought that the members of the Tapas 9 would have deemed it responsible parenting to leave their very young children alone in the apartments each evening? The Paynes showed a degree of caution, using a baby alarm, but it's not the same as being with the children yourself or having a babysitter or putting them into a creche; there's just too many things that could go wrong and children are not able to deal with emergencies. Yet wouldn't these people have been deemed responsible people by anyone vetting them? In fact - though this really does beggar belief - Kate McCann actually said in an interview after Madeleine went missing that she was a responsible parent and that she kept telling herself this (just as well she tells herself, as it's unlikely anyone else would be telling her so, IMO).

People act in the weirdest of ways, no doubt about it, and unfortunately I see no real way to be able to prevent problems in advance. I don't know how anyone can harm or kill a child, but people do, fathers do it, mothers do it too, and at present it seems to be almost an epidemic.

Just shows that we can never fully know people. The mother of the woman who stabbed her three children said she was a lovely mother who home schooled her children. Similarly, the family and friends of Kate McCann claimed she was a doting mother..but we can never be sure of what people are capable of when suffering from depression for example...

Like the women in the usa who murdered her 5 children...she was lovely but suffered depression after baby no.4 but went on to have baby no. 5 a girl...a few months later she killed them all..

· www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/and... www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/andrea_yates/

kitti wrote:· www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/and...


www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/andrea_yates/

Kitti, I'm not quite sure what happened to your link, but when I split it in two, the second half works!

fedrules wrote:Just shows that we can never fully know people. The mother of the woman who stabbed her three children said she was a lovely mother who home schooled her children. Similarly, the family and friends of Kate McCann claimed she was a doting mother..but we can never be sure of what people are capable of when suffering from depression for example...

I'm sure some mothers feel complete failures, even though they are not. Its often the so called 'perfect' families who fall victm, too much pressure on them perhaps to remain perfect.

Sounds like the poor woman couldn't cope and needed help. A real tragedy.

MJH1901 wrote:Sounds like the poor woman couldn't cope and needed help. A real tragedy.

'

Yes that's undoubtedly true. Her own family took her to hospital the day before her child died because they were so concerned about her behaviour. She was sent home...

fedrules wrote:

MJH1901 wrote:Sounds like the poor woman couldn't cope and needed help. A real tragedy.

'

Yes that's undoubtedly true. Her own family took her to hospital the day before her child died because they were so concerned about her behaviour. She was sent home...

This reminds me of the link that kitti posted yesterday about Andrea Yates. Five small children in her care and she had come to the attention of health care professionals because of her depression and suicidal tendencies. If you didn't read any of it (it's very long) here's the link again.

www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/andrea_yates/

AnnaEsse wrote:

fedrules wrote:

MJH1901 wrote:Sounds like the poor woman couldn't cope and needed help. A real tragedy.

'

Yes that's undoubtedly true. Her own family took her to hospital the day before her child died because they were so concerned about her behaviour. She was sent home...

This reminds me of the link that kitti posted yesterday about Andrea Yates. Five small children in her care and she had come to the attention of health care professionals because of her depression and suicidal tendencies. If you didn't read any of it (it's very long) here's the link again.

www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/andrea_yates/

I recall that story Anna, she is a Jehovah Witness. She and her husband were involved with one of the most extreme fundamentalist groups in the country.

pennylane wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

fedrules wrote:

MJH1901 wrote:Sounds like the poor woman couldn't cope and needed help. A real tragedy.

'

Yes that's undoubtedly true. Her own family took her to hospital the day before her child died because they were so concerned about her behaviour. She was sent home...

This reminds me of the link that kitti posted yesterday about Andrea Yates. Five small children in her care and she had come to the attention of health care professionals because of her depression and suicidal tendencies. If you didn't read any of it (it's very long) here's the link again.

www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/andrea_yates/

I recall that story Anna, she is a Jehovah Witness. She and her husband were involved with one of the most extreme fundamentalist groups in the country.

Yes, her religious beliefs became distorted, imo, by her psychosis. God, Satan and Yasser Arafat seem to be very common voices for people who have psychotic tendencies.

AnnaEsse wrote:

pennylane wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

fedrules wrote:

MJH1901 wrote:Sounds like the poor woman couldn't cope and needed help. A real tragedy.

'

Yes that's undoubtedly true. Her own family took her to hospital the day before her child died because they were so concerned about her behaviour. She was sent home...

This reminds me of the link that kitti posted yesterday about Andrea Yates. Five small children in her care and she had come to the attention of health care professionals because of her depression and suicidal tendencies. If you didn't read any of it (it's very long) here's the link again.

www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/andrea_yates/

I recall that story Anna, she is a Jehovah Witness. She and her husband were involved with one of the most extreme fundamentalist groups in the country.

Yes, her religious beliefs became distorted, imo, by her psychosis. God, Satan and Yasser Arafat seem to be very common voices for people who have psychotic tendencies.

Her religious beliefs became distorted as you say. She thought that she had been possessed by Satan and he was going to murder her children..... and she killed them before they reached the 'age of accountability.'

If she were not surrounded by religious fanatics - she may well have been helped. She had severe post natal depression also which was being mishandled. She didn't have a chance, and her poor children lost their lives in some part due to the fanatical influence of those that should have been helping her (imo).

Thanks for the link Annesse. I only time to look at the first chapter, but what leapt out of the page at me was the fact that, as in the recent stabbed children case, the mother home schooled them. I find home schooling odd. Children need to learn to mix with kids of different backgrounds. I think home scholing, particularly by religious people, is a way of insuring they don't come into contact with ideas which go against the views of their faith. I also think it is quite controlling behaviour.

Anyway, will read the rest later.

fedrules wrote:Thanks for the link Annesse. I only time to look at the first chapter, but what leapt out of the page at me was the fact that, as in the recent stabbed children case, the mother home schooled them. I find home schooling odd. Children need to learn to mix with kids of different backgrounds. I think home scholing, particularly by religious people, is a way of insuring they don't come into contact with ideas which go against the views of their faith. I also think it is quite controlling behaviour.

Anyway, will read the rest later.

The little girl who was starved to death in Birmingham was being home schooled.