'Mama, why did you kill me?' Woman sentenced for drowning autistic son

The woman who murdered her son because he was autistic has been sentenced in a San Diego court to serve 15 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

SAN DIEGO, CA (Catholic Online) - "I hate you with all my heart and soul" a broken father [name withheld]  told Patricia Corby before she was sentenced. Patricia Corby, 37, drowned her son, Daniel, in the bathtub after her frustration grew over trying to find care for him.

Her husband was at work at the time and Corby did not try to conceal her crime. After she murdered the boy, she wrapped his body in a blanket and reported to the Carmel Valley police station to turn herself in.

Corby's attorney provided evidence that showed the family spent as much as $70,000 trying to provide care for the boy.

As a term of her sentence, Corby will not be eligible to get time off for good behavior and will have to serve the full minimum of 15 years before being considered for parole.

In court, Corby kept her head down as relatives condemned her before sentencing. In an especially tearful moment, an aunt said the boy was looking down from heaven and asking, "Mama, why did you kill me?"

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'