Death of baby ruled a homicide; mom thought he was autistic

The Autism News

By Jeffrey Wolf | 9News – Colorado’s News Leader

BOULDER – The case of a mother who told investigators she killed her 6-month-old son because she thought he was autistic was official ruled a homicide on Tuesday.

The Boulder County Coroner says Rylan Rochester died after being suffocated.

His mother, 34-year-old Stephanie Rochester from Superior, told investigators in June that she tried to kill the child three separate times.

Rochester was a counselor to autistic children at a hospital and when her own son was born last November, investigators say she became obsessed with the possibility that Rylan was autistic.

According to police documents, she told investigators that is why she killed the baby.

Rochester told police that on May 31, she took a plastic bag and put it over Rylan’s head and then put a blanket on his face. The arrest affidavit says she took the plastic bag off but put blankets on his face two other times that night.

He was taken to the hospital on June 1 where he was pronounced dead.

Source: http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=145719&catid=339

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