From: unk...@googlegroups.com   
      
   Jillian McCabe Accused of Throwing Autistic Son Off Oregon Bridge   
   
 
   
   
   
   BY CASSANDRA VINOGRAD AND TRACY CONNOR   
   An Oregon mother who had a breakdown while caring for her autistic son and   
   ailing husband allegedly threw the 6-year-old off a bridge and then called   
   police to tell them, authorities and relatives said Tuesday.   
      
   Jillian Meredith McCabe, 34, of Seal Rock, Oregon, was arrested for the   
   killing of her son London, police said. Authorities discovered the boy's body   
   in the waters of Oregon's Yaquina Bay hours after McCabe called 911 late   
   Monday.   
      
   On Tuesday afternoon, McCabe made a brief appearance in Lincoln County court   
   — via video conference while wearing restrictive clothing to designed to   
   keep her from hurting herself. A judge ordered her held on $1 million bail on   
   charges of aggravated    
   murder, murder and 1st and 2nd degree manslaughter. She did not enter a plea   
   and the judge set a preliminary hearing in the case for Nov. 12.   
      
   In the past, McCabe had spoken and written of "pulling a Thelma and Louise"   
   — a reference to the movie in which two women drive their car off a cliff   
   — as a response to the stresses of her life.   
      
   "We're all devastated," Andrew McCabe, London's uncle, told NBC News. "London   
   was a good kid. He loved hats. And his Dad."   
      
   “She took him for a walk and did what she did,” he added.   
      
   Image: Jillian McCabe KGW   
   Jillian McCabe at hearing in Lincoln County Court, Oregon, on Nov. 4. She   
   appeared via video conference.   
   Relatives said the once-stable mother suffered a mental collapse in the face   
   of incredible challenges: caring for a non-verbal and autistic child, a health   
   crisis that left her husband fighting for his life, and the death of her   
   father.   
      
   "Jillian really struggled with her mental health and I know she was just out   
   of her mind when this happened," said Tanya McCabe, London's great-aunt, who   
   led the family effort to obtain psychiatric services for her. She was   
   discharged more than once from    
   inpatient care, she said.   
      
   "It was terrible what we went through to get her the help she did get," she   
   said. "We worked full-time to get her the services but obviously they weren't   
   sufficient."   
      
   She declined to provide further details, citing privacy concerns. Oregon's   
   state health agency said it could not comment on an individual patient's case.   
      
   Family members say Jillian sought treatment when she lived in Hood River about   
   two years ago.   
      
   “We sought care on several occasions. Due to the limited options in the   
   public health system, we were only able to get her into an outpatient facility   
   in The Dalles,” brother-in-law Andy McCabe told NBC News Tuesday night.   
   “It was a limited time    
   allowed. And since they refused to admit her officially to an inpatient   
   facility, she was released to us."   
      
   "I know she was just out of her mind when this happened."   
   Tanya McCabe said London's mother had expressed thoughts of harming herself   
   but the family never imagined she would kill her son.   
      
   "Jillian was always so patient with him, and loving. She really had a lot of   
   compassion for his condition. When he was screaming at the top of his lungs,   
   which was the only way he could communicate, she didn't get upset at all. She   
   would calmly comfort    
   him, and I was amazed at how patient she was.   
      
   "So this was shocking and heartbreaking."   
      
   The family's difficulties were chronicled extensively on social media, through   
   YouTube, Facebook and Google Plus. The authenticity of those pages was   
   confirmed to NBC News by Andrew McCabe.   
      
   On a fundraising website set up by family and friends, Jillian McCabe wrote   
   that her husband Matt had been diagnosed with MS and had a mass in his brain   
   stem — going from acting as "the sole breadwinner and provider to not" in a   
   matter of two weeks.   
      
   She recounted how she rushed her husband to the emergency room, where nurses   
   had said "they couldn't believe London was severely autistic — he was so   
   well-behaved." The appeal linked to a now-defunct blog called "Autistic   
   London."   
      
   "I am taking care of our son London and now Matt full-time," she wrote. "I am   
   applying for any and all assistance available… I NEED YOUR HELP."   
      
   "I love my husband and he has taken care of myself and my son for years and   
   years and now it's time for me to take the helm," she added. "I am scared and   
   I am reaching out. I hope I am not coming across trashy or over-reactionary. I   
   must explore every    
   avenue to take care of my family right now."   
      
   In a YouTube video of Jillian McCabe posted by a family member, she expressed   
   her appreciation for support and funds and donations as the family struggled   
   with Matt's diagnosis and caring for London.   
      
   "You are making this experience livable — versus pulling a Thelma and Louise   
   — which I've totally thought about," a tearful Jillian said with a little   
   laugh. "I said it."   
      
   Matt McCabe's Facebook profile documented the devoted father's medical   
   struggles and family life with London and Jillian. Early photos of a young   
   London — who was diagnosed with severe autism in 2011, according to a post   
   — give way to a smiling young    
   boy sporting a variety of hats.   
      
   "It's absolutely a tragedy."   
      
   In blog posts penned by Matt McCabe, he hinted at family troubles.   
      
   "Some of you 'know' and some of you don’t. Jillian and I are living apart   
   right now," he wrote on the blog. "Life happens. We are still 'together' but   
   living apart. This has been very difficult, but life is unique, right?"   
      
   But in September, there were signs that the family situation was improving. A   
   YouTube video posted online last month showed Matt, Jillian and London   
   celebrating the boy's sixth birthday at a table surrounded by stuffed-animal   
   party guests.   
      
   In the video — titled “London McCabe’s Sixth Birthday" — Jillian hugs   
   the hat-clad London close as he eyes a candle-lit cupcake, then claps and   
   cheers as he blows out the candle.   
      
   In September, Matt McCabe posted that his wife had moved back in, and the   
   situation seemed to be improving.   
      
   "Jillian is living with us, too," he wrote. "London is pleased as punch. He   
   lays on our laps and puts our hands together. Last night he made the 'mmmwha!'   
   sound and gave his Mommy a kiss. Then he made the same sound and pushed our   
   faces together. He’s    
   all smiles."   
      
   London McCabe. VIA FACEBOOK   
   London McCabe playing with a toy giraffe last November. “He liked big floppy   
   hats and anything that was fuzzy," his uncle said.   
      
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