The Filicidal Tendencies of a Western-Washington Knitter

A story recently circulated the media about a Carnation, WA woman starving her 14-year old step-daughter almost to death. The step-mother allowed the girl only one-half cup of water each day, locking the girl in the parents' bedroom at night so she couldn't sneak out and drink more water. The step-mother did these things—and admitted to doing so—to punish the girl, claiming she had behavioral problems. The level of dehydration caused the girl's teeth to rot to the point of needing extraction or caps. Both parents were neglectful towards the girl; the last time the girl was seen by a doctor was at least 3 years prior, and the father claimed he ignored the water-restrictions because he thought that the step-mother/daughter could "work it out themselves." Oddly enough, the girl's 12-year old brother suffered no noticeable neglect, had seen a doctor within the last 2 years, and the family's 2 pet dogs had recently been taken to veterinary appointments.

When CPS took the girl to the hospital for treatment, she was 4'7" and weighed 48 lbs. In other words, she hadn't physically matured since the age of 10. Thankfully, her foster father has reported a 20-lb weight gain in the girl in the month since she came to live with him, and she is attending a private school and making fast friends, with no signs of psychological or social disorders.

Thank the gods.

One aspect of this tale has been blown completely out of proportion by some reports:

the step-mother was an avid knitter, at one point blogging about a stash sufficient to complete 72 projects. This is absurd, seeing as not every whack-job with dependents (biological or step-children) does not need or have a hobby, and the hobby does not designate extreme mental illness and the capacity to do harm against a child of the same sex as the antagonist.

At the risk of sounding cold and disconnected (and a wee bit hoity-toity), I believe it's about biology at the most basic, primal, and unemotional level. Looking at the scenario from an animal-behavioral perspective, the stepmother sees the girl as competition for her mate's (the father's) attention. This explains pretty much every instance of conflict in step-parent/step-child relationships, also taking into account current social phenomena (cell phones, TV, fashion, etc.) But this woman has gone beyond any rational human behavior, careening in the direction of filicidal tendencies. In conclusion, Ladies and Jellyspoons:

the woman's a nut job who doesn't know how to handle having a teenage step-daughter except trying to kill her, and needs to go away for a VERY long time... without any yarn. See how she likes THAT punishment.

[Amazing what one can learn from human behavior by taking an animal behavior class. Does that mean the term "inhuman" is flawed?]