Murder Antidepressants 09/05/2003 Michigan Mother Murders Only Child, a 22 Year Old Daughter
 
 Summary:<br><br><!--StartFragment -->The third from the last paragraph reads: &quot;<strong>He said his client has been on antidepressants for about five years&quot;.<br /><br /><br /></strong><a href="http://www.lsj.com/news/local/030509_murder_1a-5a.html">http://www.lsj.com/news/local/030509_murder_1a-5a.</a><a href="http://www.lsj.com/news/local/030509_murder_1a-5a.html">html<br /><br /></a>Published 5/9/2003<br />Mother pleads guilty to killing daughter<br />Carol Ackels faces sentence of 12 years to life<br /><strong>What&#39;s next</strong>Carol Ackels is jailed awaiting sentencing June 12. She faces up to life in prison. <br />By Robyn Rosenthal<br />Lansing State Journal <br />Sarina Ganser&#39;s family members wept quietly Thursday as her mother described in court how she killed her.<br />Carol Ackels, 41, faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty in Ingham County Circuit Court to second-degree murder. <br />Family members are still grieving the loss of 22-year-old Ganser.<br />&quot;I miss her presence, her cheerfulness, her good-heartedness,&quot; her grandmother Elfriede Ganser said after the proceedings. <br />Ackels will be sentenced June 12 by Judge James Giddings.<br />In response to Giddings&#39; questions on Thursday about what happened July 24, Ackels said she went to her daughter&#39;s house at 3241 Stabler St. <br />&quot;And then you fired at least three shots?&quot; Giddings asked.<br />&quot;Yes,&quot; she said.<br />Giddings asked Ackels where she left her daughter after the shooting.<br />&quot;In the kitchen, standing,&quot; she replied. <br />&quot;I threw the gun in the living room and left.&quot;<br />Ganser bled to death from four gunshot wounds. Ackels sustained two wounds from a 9 mm semiautomatic.<br />Ganser was trying to evict her mother and had a personal protection order that barred Ackels from threatening or attacking Ganser or entering her home.<br />Ackels refused to move out and threatened to kill her daughter, according to the restraining order.<br />Ganser was Ackels&#39; only child.<br />Defense attorney Gene Turnwald, who was appointed by Giddings after Ackels&#39; first attorney withdrew from the case, said the court proceedings are emotionally exhausting for everyone.<br />&quot;At some trials there&#39;s nothing good that you gain no matter where you stand in the courtroom,&quot; he said. <br />In an unusual move, Giddings prohibited cameras in the courtroom, citing a little-enforced rule that requires media to file a request 24 hours in advance.<br />Turnwald said Ackels likely wouldn&#39;t have gone through with pleading had cameras been allowed.<br />The minimum sentence for the second-degree murder charge is 12 to 20 years, Turnwald said. The maximum is life in prison. <br />Assistant Prosecutor Mike Ferency said he will ask Giddings to exceed the minimum recommended guidelines. <br />Ackels also pleaded guilty to felony firearm possession, a two-year felony. Giddings said the sentences will run consecutively.<br />Turnwald said he will ask Giddings to consider Ackels&#39; mental health when deciding her sentence. He said his client has been on antidepressants for about five years.<br />At the start of the proceedings Thursday, Giddings accepted a report by a defense psychologist that found Ackels competent to stand trial. <br />Ackels, handcuffed and wearing red jail garb, taunted family members before the proceedings started and had to be removed from the courtroom for awhile.<br />Contact Robyn Rosenthal at 377-1052 or rrosenthal@lsj.com. <br /><br /><br /> 
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