Mom Allegedly Left Son To Die on Bathroom Floor, What Cops See Painted on Every Door in the House Seems To Explain It
A Racine, Wisconsin, woman is facing charges of leaving her son to die after he fell from his wheelchair a few days prior, breaking several bones. What was chilling, however, was the condition the house was found in.
According to The Journal Times of Racine, police said they found an X painted in red on every door of the house after they entered, leading to serious questions about Cheryl Christensen’s mental health.
Christensen, 46, was charged Nov. 12 after her son’s body was found during a welfare check in late October.
Police came to her home Oct. 28 after relatives requested the check. Christensen’s son had to use a wheelchair after suffering physical and brain injuries when he was hit by a car as a 14-year-old.
The Racine County Eye reported that when officers arrived at 3:17 p.m., there was a sign on the door that read, “On vacation, please respect that. Also, 7 months and no supplies, you are fired Human services.”
Officers said they knocked but weren’t able to get anyone to answer the door.
At 5:19 p.m., police made a second visit, this time with a relative and a county Human Services Department employee. The relative, an uncle, said he had been to the house to check on his nephew earlier in the day but Christensen had chased him away. A police report said she beat on his car hood and told him that she’d “kill [him] and that she was going to ram her truck into his truck.”
In addition, Christensen’s daughter and sister arrived and said they didn’t think she was getting proper care due to her “mental health issues.”
Christensen attempted to barricade her front door, police said, but officers were able to breach it. She allegedly proceeded to throw things at them after locking herself in a room and telling them, “You’re not taking me out of here alive.” Christensen was eventually tasered to get her under control.
Inside, they found her son’s body under a blanket in the bathroom.
Christensen claimed to police that he’d fallen out of bed several days prior and had broken some bones. She said she had pulled him to the bathroom and had given him medication — the anxiolytic diazepam and the antidepressant and nerve-pain medication amitriptyline — as well as water and juice for sustenance. However, he began refusing that after about four days.
She allegedly told authorities she didn’t call for help because she didn’t want her son to die at the hospital and that he was “on his way out” anyhow, although relatives said he’d been seen by a doctor just a month prior and was in relatively good health.
Christensen stands charged with one felony, negligently subjecting an at-risk individual to abuse causing death. She is also charged with two misdemeanors, obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct.
A Racine woman is facing charges in connection to the death of her son. https://t.co/7OIPL5mXWG
— CBS 58 News (@CBS58) November 13, 2020
According to KITV-TV, she could spend up to 25 years in prison on the charges.
Evidence of Christensen’s mental condition could be seen in the state of the house — or rather, how it was painted.
The first thing officers said they noticed when they entered the house was red spray paint on the walls. A red cross was painted on the TV, a red line on the floor and red “X” markings on every door.
Christensen told police she’d painted the house because “the home had a mad energy to it” and there were “demons or something going on” inside.
She said she’d started painting the house after her son fell down.
As for other evidence as to her mental state, her daughter also said that she believed her mother was “suffering from some type of emotional distress or mental breakdown as she had been sending significant amounts of money to a preacher in Texas.”
She said Christensen had given her three letters during a prior visit, including one that was addressed to a man in San Antonio, Texas.
The role of mental health in her son’s death seems to loom large, particularly given COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing. Several studies have found worse mental health situations for caregivers, particularly of children with special needs, than among the population at large.
After a $50,000 arrest warrant was issued for Christensen on Nov. 2, she was taken into custody on Nov. 12.
Bail in the case was set at $3,000 — although few, if any, answers have emerged yet.
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