Testimony ends; divergent opinions emerge on Kehoe mental state

Josh Nelson

Nov. 5, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- GRUNDY CENTER -- Testimony ended Wednesday afternoon in Michelle Kehoe's first-degree murder trial with drastically differing opinions on the extent of her mental illness.

Kehoe is accused of killing her son Seth, 2, and attempting to kill another son Sean, now 8, at the Hook-N-Liner pond near Littleton on Oct. 26, 2008. Kehoe also tried to kill herself and spent several weeks in the hospital. She also faces charges of attempted murder and child endangerment causing serious injury the injuries to Sean.

Dr. Marilyn Hutchinson, a psychologist and defense witness, told jurors she believed Kehoe, 36, of Coralville, suffered from multiple problems -- severe depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress -- that put her at "a risk for psychotic thought."

"My primary observation of her is that she is a tortured soul," Hutchinson said.

However, Dr. Michael Taylor, a psychiatrist and prosecution witness, didn't believe there was evidence to show that Kehoe's mental state was poor enough that she couldn't understand how her actions would affect her children.

"On Oct. 26, 2008, Michelle Kehoe very clearly had the ability to tell the difference between right and wrong," Taylor said.

Treatment history

Hutchinson evaluated Kehoe for 10 hours over the course of three days in January at the Buchanan County Jail. She also performed several psychological tests.

Kehoe was diagnosed with multiple problems, including several personality disorders. Treatment for those problems so far was ineffective or inappropriate, Hutchinson said.

"It wasn't tackling the real stuff," she said.

Many of Kehoe's issues began in childhood when she was sexually abused by her stepfather from second grade until age 13, Hutchinson said. At that age, she told her mother about the abuse. Her mother instead sent Kehoe to live with relatives in Sumner. Kehoe's father had died in a car accident.

Kehoe felt abandoned and alone. She also thought the abuse may be her fault, Hutchinson said.

"These are the kinds of feelings that children who are abused have," she said.

Later in life, she focused that energy on her two boys, trying to become the best parent possible. That was in part an effort "redo her childhood," Hutchinson said.

In 1998 and 1999 -- before her sons were born -- she had two suicide attempts. Both were considered serious, though her subsequent therapy wasn't of the same gravity, Hutchinson said.

Kehoe attended 23 sessions of couples therapy in 1998. After such an event, the sessions should be at least twice a week on an individual basis. Hutchinson said Kehoe's treatment was a "sporadic response to a tragic situation."

Kehoe tried a variety of treatments with mixed results. She was prescribed half a dozen different psychiatric medications, she underwent electro-convulsive treatments.

Therapists also diagnosed her with new conditions, including obsessive compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder and post-traumatic stress.

Things took a turn in 2007. Sean began to grow rebellious, challenging the perceptions of her parenting. In December, she drove her van into the Iowa River. Kehoe and others called it an accident.

"Things were beginning to slip on her hold of what we think of as real," Hutchinson said.

She believed that she would hurt the boys again, and began planning an out. She worried also about the shame a suicide would cause her husband Gene, so she concocted a story, the psychologist said.

"It was very, very clear to me that Michelle's reasoning was that she was saving them from many, many terrible things," Hutchinson said.

On cross examination, Hutchinson said despite Kehoe's deluded thinking, she could understand and appreciate the nature of her acts -- a key to legal insanity. She also formed a specific intent to kill the boys, Hutchinson said.

State's rebuttal

Taylor, came up with a different diagnosis from Hutchinson and Dr. William Logan, a psychiatrist who testified for the defense Tuesday.

He agreed Kehoe suffered from a major depressive personality disorder, but didn't think that distorted her perception. The level of planning involved in the event showed Kehoe's thoughts were "very well organized," Taylor said.

"The degree to which this woman precisely, methodically planned these events and carried them out clearly refutes that her actions were the product of a mental disorder," he said.

He pointed to the efforts to make it look like someone else committed the acts, and the fact that she didn't want Gene to live with the shame of knowing she killed the boys and herself.

"If she thought what she did was right, why would she deny it? That answer is totally inconsistent with a woman who can't tell right from wrong," he said.

Taylor interviewed Kehoe for 97 minutes at his office in Cummings -- much less time than the other two. But he was confident in his opinion. He also used several reports, including ones from law enforcement, Kehoe's medical history and the results from both Logan and Hutchinson's evaluations.

Closing arguments in the case will be made today before the case is handed to jurors for deliberation.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0150-39469456