KISSIMMEE, FL — A 68-year-old mother was arrested after investigators said she admitted to intentionally overdosing her two severely autistic adult sons in an attempt to kill them, telling detectives that caring for them had become more difficult since her husband died last year, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to a home on Indian Ridge Trail South in Kissimmee shortly after 10 a.m. on Sept. 8 following a reported overdose.
When deputies arrived, they found three adults showing signs of a drug overdose: Marilyn Elise Therrell, 68, and her two sons, ages 30 and 32. All three were transported to Celebration Hospital for treatment after overdosing on medication.
Detectives began investigating the circumstances surrounding the overdoses and suspected they were intentional. Investigators collected evidence from the residence and interviewed a long-distance family member and the landlord.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, statements made by Therrell were consistent with intentionally providing medication to herself and her sons with the intent of causing fatal overdoses.
On Sept. 17, detectives interviewed Therrell. She allegedly admitted that since her husband died last year, it had become harder for her to care for her two adult sons. Investigators said Therrell then admitted that she purposely overdosed her sons on medication in an attempt to kill them.
Therrell was arrested and booked into the Osceola County Jail on two counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated abuse of a disabled adult.
SOURCE: OSCEOLA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
