Due to Hurricane Matthew changes to our scheduled flights to and from FL beginning tomorrow Thur, October 6 details https://t.co/NthBtHmurC
“First of all, there’s a concept called familicide, where one parent wipes out the rest of the family. But 95 percent of those are committed by fathers who kill their wife and the children,” Resnick said. “What’s unusual in this case is that the woman killed her husband.”
Resnick said there are many cases where a mother suffering from depression decides to kill herself and her children.
“When a mother is feeling depressed, overwhelmed, unable to cope, often she may take her children’s lives, rather than have them cope motherless,” he said. “So if her intention was to kill her husband, knowing that she would either then kill herself or be imprisoned, her children would be without parents. Sometimes a mother thinks the children would be better off in heaven than without a parent.”
He added, “If a mother is depressed, they tend to think the worst — my children will be without parents, and they’ll be broken up, because no foster family will take all seven of them.”
Firefighters were called early Thursday morning to the Glen Carbon home that Campbell, 32, shared with her husband, Justin Campbell, 37, and their seven children. Justin Campbell, whose body was found inside, died of a gunshot wound to the head.
Not long after that, Cristy Campbell drove her Nissan Armada into Silver Lake outside Highland, with her infant son in the vehicle. A paramedic rescued the baby. Cristy Campbell’s body was found in the water a few hours later.
The Campbells’ six other children were in the home at the time of the fire. They all escaped. A neighbor’s surveillance video shows some of the children running toward Cristy Campbell’s vehicle as she left the home.
“I don’t think she planned for them to escape. The fact that she brought the child into the lake with her suggests that she intended to kill all of the children,” Resnick said. “If her goal was to burn down the home and not harm the children, I would expect her to just marshal the children outside and then set the fire. Counting on them to escape on their own would have been too high-risk.”
When a woman is seriously depressed, and she looks at the world through her depressed eyes, she may feel that the family’s better off dead.
Dr. Phillip Resnick, a forensic psychiatrist and professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland
But he added that mothers who kill their children typically choose a method that is not painful, messy or violent — overdoses and carbon monoxide poisoning are common.
“In situations like that, there usually is a desire to take the children’s lives in the most humane way possible,” Resnick said. “Assuming the fire was deliberately set, that would be a relatively unpleasant way for the children to die, so I think that’s a little odd.”
“If it was simply depression, I think she would more likely kill herself and her children, and not the husband. I think there was a separate issue of animus toward the husband,” he said. “When killings are altruistic, it is more often that a woman kills herself and her children, and leaves her husband alone, because he can fend for himself. The fact that she killed her husband, that suggests to me that it’s more anger.”
Cristy Campbell’s Facebook page is dotted with proud posts about her children. People close to her say she had to juggle a lot — trying to hold down a job while raising seven children.
“I don’t think the pressures alone would do it. She may have simply become depressed, and that might have been from feeling overwhelmed,” Resnick said. “When a woman is seriously depressed, and she looks at the world through her depressed eyes, she may feel that the family’s better off dead.”
He added, “Another issue is whether the primary goal was to kill the husband, either due to anger, retribution or whatever, and that is what set off the cascade of events. Once she killed the husband — which she may or may not have planned — she may have sat there and thought, ‘Now what?’”
Etling has not spoken with current Shiloh Mayor Jim Vernier since his dismissal. Vernier could not be reached for comment.
The Village of Shiloh issued a statement on Wednesday: “In recent years, the village’s professional engineering activities have largely been performed by private engineering firms. Given the very limited amount of professional engineering work performed in-house, the village board voted to eliminate the position of village engineer and offer the incumbent, Norm Etling, a severance package reflective of the village’s appreciation for his dedicated service.”
But instead of going to work, he went to an eye glass appointment. He also started to go through “all of the junk” he brought home and stored in his garage after he cleaned out his office Tuesday.
“My wife isn’t too pleased with that,” he said and laughed. “She asked if they didn’t have a dumpster (at Village Hall). You could have just thrown it all away. But most of those things were things an old man feels is important, a young person may not value like diagrams and manuals. They use computers. In fact, some of the manuals I have are from when I was in college. It’s more of memory than value. I still stack it somewhere.”
There were good days in Shiloh, and better days. But I don’t ever remember any bad days. If you can say that after 21 years, that’s a good thing to say.
He said he hopes to talk with Vernier once his severance agreement is signed and the “dust settles.”
Etling declined to discuss the details of the severance package, which he plans to have reviewed by an attorney.
He said the only thing he knows for certain is that the village engineering position has been eliminated.
Shiloh Police Chief Jim Stover said his department is not investigating Etling. He said he found Etling very professional and ethical in the time he has worked with the village.
Etling was hired by then Shiloh Mayor Norm Acker as Shiloh’s first engineer in April 1995. To this day, Etling holds Acker and the village board at the time in high regard. He still remembers Acker saying: “He said they couldn’t afford to pay me like they do in Belleville.”
“Those guys gave me the opportunity to come here,” Etling said. “What a wonderful opportunity. Where else can you go and the community grows from 3,200 to over 13,000 in your career?”
“Where can you go from having three businesses to all of these businesses (at Green Mount Crossing Shopping Center).”
For many years, it was like a one-man shop working in Shiloh. But in recent years, the village’s engineering department has added administrative assistant Kathy Wangler and a zoning inspector Mike Campbell. Campbell and Wangler are now expected to be assigned administrative positions. Campbell will also continue with inspections, according to Etling.
Although the motion was to eliminate Etling’s position, Village Clerk Brenda Kern said on Tuesday that by eliminating Etling, the village is eliminating the engineering department.
Etling, who still plans to make his home in Shiloh, said the only thing he regrets is that he will not see all of the projects he helped plan be finished during his tenure including Shiloh Station Road and the proposed Three Springs at Shiloh development.
“The hardest thing to realize is your own mortality,” he said. “I might be able to drive them, but I won’t be there to finish them.”
In February, Shiloh hired Megan Fuhler as its public works director with a salary of about $68,000. Etling’s salary was capped at $115,000 for the past two years.
He said Shiloh had more engineers at one time. But in 2008, there were more than 200 homes being built in the village, which Etling said was an unsustainable growth spurt. Now, there are about 40 homes being built in Shiloh, which Etling said is a “good number.”
Etling said he still doesn’t know why he was dismissed by the village or why it’s this close to his retirement.
Etling said he doesn’t know what he will do during his retirement. He might fish, but he has to be careful because he has trouble walking after he injured his knee.
“Chicago is a funny town for a little city guy,” he said. “I don’t get along well there. My daughter always says, ‘Dad, don’t talk to everybody on the street. They’ll think you are weird. And don’t pick up any trash. People don’t do that here.’”
“That’s probably what I’m going to miss most,” he said. “But this is just the way it is. There were good days in Shiloh, and better days. But I don’t ever remember any bad days. If you can say that after 21 years, that’s a good thing to say. Everyone worked together and it was very cohesive unit. Trustees were always very supportive. Some times we don’t see the political aspects as well as a politician. So you have to blend those two together.”
This part of the tour included an in-depth look of a KC-135, which serves as an air refueling flight and also can be converted into a hospital to provide critical care for the wounded. The KC-135 — which is more than 60 years old — includes everything from life saving equipment to airway kits, while also carrying oxygen.
“Why is AE important? It’s important for many reasons,” said Lt. Col. Russel Frantz, new 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron Commander. “We swoop in, pick patients up ... and move patients in and out rapidly. We move pediatrics to the elderly and everything in between.”
In this regard, Capt. Jessica Looft recalled a recent mission she flew and noted the satisfaction derived from it.
“We got to take people home ... that was a cool thing,” she said. “We move pre-term babies ... it’s just a cool job.”
There are so many awesome stories over the last 15 years in the advances in aeromedical evacuation technology on the aircraft. It’s a pretty awesome part of our mission.
Of note, the survival rate of wounded warriors has increased from 76 percent to 91 percent, thanks largely to the AES’s efforts.
“There are so many awesome stories over the last 15 years in the advances in aeromedical evacuation technology on the aircraft,” Lenderman said. “It’s a pretty awesome part of our mission.”
Overall, the KC-135 can care for up to 25 patients, serves as a key training platform for Airmen and transports anyone from military personnel to retirees to military members on leave. It can fly a maximum of 50,000 feet and travel up to 535 miles per hour.
However, a KC-135 lacks one thing — air conditioning. In turn, when flying a mission over 120 degree heat in the desert, for instance, it’s 140 degrees in the cockpit.
Next came a briefing of the C-21, which primarily transports high ranking military members, among other critical functions. Scott is one of two active duty bases with C-21s.
“Most of what we do is carrying around four stars (generals) in the Air Force,” 1st Lt. Alex Beveridge said. “It’s so much fun to fly those guys.”
“It’s a pretty awesome responsibility,” Lenderman said of the pilots who fly these high-ranking military members. “They’re making decisions on their own and making very good decisions. I’m very proud of them.”
It is very vital to the DoD (Department of Defense) that this department exists. We help plan trips for the President. We’re going to be moving people. It happens here day in, day out. It’s very exciting. There’s never a dull moment.
“The C-21 is a very capable aircraft,” Beveridge said. “It has a proven track record with safety and reliability. It’ll get you where you need to go.”
The final tour stop was AMC Headquarters to learn about the 618th Air Operations Center. Maj. Jen Pelletier provided a briefing that included AMC’s four core capabilities: Airlift, Air Refueling, Air Mobility Support and Aeromedical Evacuation.
“It is very vital to the DoD (Department of Defense) that this department exists,” said Col. Charles B. McDaniel, 618th AOC vice commander. “We help plan trips for the president. We’re going to be moving people. It happens here day in, day out. It’s very exciting. There’s never a dull moment.”
Members of the medical flight crew stand at attention near a KC-135 Stratotanker which can haul patients as well as fuel. Tim Vizer Tvizer@bnd.com