Judge set July trial for northern Michigan mom charged with trying to kill autistic daughter
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - This undated file booking photo provided by the Benzie County Sheriff shows Kelli Stapleton. A court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, 2014, in the case of the northern Michigan woman charged with attempted murder in the carbon monoxide poisoning of her autistic 14-year-old daughter. (AP Photo/Benzie County Sheriff, File) (The Associated Press)
A judge has set a summer trial for a northern Michigan woman accused of trying to kill her autistic daughter with carbon monoxide.
Benzie County Judge James Batzer set the trial for July 16, although the date could change depending on his docket.
Kelli Stapleton is charged with attempted murder. She's accused of trying to kill herself and her 14-year-old daughter Isabelle by igniting charcoal in two grills inside a van last September.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stapleton has been found mentally fit to stand trial. There's also another report on her state of mind at the time of the alleged crime, although her attorney is seeking another evaluation.
Stapleton regularly wrote about the difficulties of raising an autistic daughter on a blog called The Status Woe.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Information from: Traverse City Record-Eagle, http://www.record-eagle.com