Murder-Suicide Attempt Antidepressants 13/01/1996 New Hampshire Grandmother Attempts to Kill Granddaughter & Self
 
 Summary:<br><br><div>Paragraphs 3 &amp; 4 read:&nbsp; &quot;I<strong>n mid-May, police said Rowell gave herself and her granddaughters overdoses of <u>anti-depressants in a planned murder-suicide attempt.<br /><br /></u></strong>At the time, her grand-daughters - Amber and Alyssa - were 8 and 2 years old, respectively. She had adopted one.<br /><br />___________________________________________________________________________<br />Grandmother Pleads Guilty In Attempted <strong>Murder<br /></strong>New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, NH)<br />January 13, 1996<br />Estimated printed pages: 2 <br /><img src="../images.newsbank.com/infoweb/agg/shim.gif" alt="[]" width="1" height="1" /> <br /><br />(PHOTO) By MARK HAYWARD Union Leader Correspondent<br /><br />NEWPORT -- A 45-year-old Franconia woman pleaded guilty yesterday to trying to kill her two granddaughters last May, avoiding an upcoming trial on two attempted <strong>murder</strong> charges. <br />Sobbing quietly during emotional parts of a 20-minute hearing, Virginia Rowell entered the guilty pleas to the two felony charges against her.<br /><br />A background investigation was ordered, and she was returned to Grafton County Jail.<br /><br />In mid-May, police said Rowell gave herself and her granddaughters overdoses of <strong>anti-depressants</strong> in a planned <strong>murder</strong>-suicide attempt.<br /><br />At the time, her grand-daughters - Amber and Alyssa - were 8 and 2 years old, respectively. She had adopted one.<br /><br />Rowell left a suicide note saying she was despondent over a failed relationship.<br /><br />&#39;&#39;Don&#39;t ever let yourself love someone this much. It hurts like hell. You welcome death,&#39;&#39; she wrote. She wrote she knew it was wrong to take the girls, but she couldn&#39;t leave them behind.<br /><br />Facing Superior Court Judge Robert Morrill, Rowell withdrew pleas of not guilty. As part of the plea bargain, her lawyer will argue for a prison sentence of six to 30 years.<br /><br />Prosecutors will ask for a higher sentence of 15 to 30 years. If the eventual sentence falls outside either range, either side can reject the plea bargain and send the case to trial.<br /><br />Rowell, a dimimutive, curly-haired woman, wore purple tights, black boots and a cotton sweater at yesterday&#39;s hearing. She sobbed quietly when Morrill asked her a series of questions about the crime.<br /><br />Queries dealt with her guilt, and whether she in fact committed the crime.<br /><br />At times, Rowell squeaked out a &#39;&#39;yes&#39;&#39; when asked if she was guilty. Other times she answered the yes/no questions in a gasp. During difficult questioning, she sunk to a chair and cried quietly.<br /><br />John C. Kissinger, the prosecutor with the state Attorney General&#39;s Office, estimated it will be about a month before a background investigation is completed. After the investigation is done, a sentencing hearing will be scheduled. <br />Edition:&nbsp; State<br />Page:&nbsp; A5<br />Index Terms: KEN<br />Record Number:&nbsp; 0F5450F3803B6D0B <br /><br />OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location):<br /><a href="http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&amp;rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:MULB&amp;rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&amp;rft_dat=0F5450F380CD3EEE&amp;svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&amp;req_dat=0FC00B934DD580D0">Grandmother Pleads Guilty In Attempted Murder</a><br /></div> 
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