Daughter accused of murder says mother hit her

By ANDRIA SIMMONS

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Friday, October 17, 2008

A bubbly 17-year-old girl - on trial along with her sister for allegedly killing their mother - dissolved into tears Friday as she testified about clashes with her mother that pushed her to attempt suicide.

"She would slap us, push us, sometimes kick us, punch us," said Catherine O'Connell, recounting quarrels she and her sister, Brenda, had with their mother, Muriel O'Connell.

The abuse came "when we watch Spanish TV, when we didn't do our chores, when we forget things," Catherine said.

The conflicts at home escalated to the point that Catherine and Brenda, who were adopted at separate times from a Guatemalan orphanage, strangled their mother to death on Aug. 6, 2006. At the time they were just 15 years old.

The girls, now 17, are on trial in Gwinnett this week facing murder charges that could put them in prison for life.

Defense attorneys claim that the girls were defending themselves during a struggle over a knife. They say the teenagers both suffered from battered woman's syndrome from enduring years of emotional and physical abuse in Guatemala and later, while living with O'Connell.

Prosecutors, however, say that the teens killed O'Connell in her sleep because they were tired of her rules and wanted "a new mommy."

Catherine O'Connell, a petite girl with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, wept openly as she recounted trying to strangle herself about eight months prior to her mother's death. She said she grew despondent after she tried to apologize to her mother for racking up an unusually high cell phone bill.

"She said my apology wasn't accepted. She basically told me she didn't care if I die and she didn't want me no more," Catherine said. "She said that I wasn't grateful."

Catherine said she locked her bedroom door and tied a bandana tightly around her neck, until she couldn't breathe. She woke up later that night at Gwinnett Medical Center, where she was treated for serious injuries related to strangulation.

Catherine testified that her mother would hit her when she grew frustrated, and then bought her presents to make amends. The alleged abuse escalated after Brenda came into their home, according to Catherine. Brenda was adopted in 2005 at the age of 14, three years after Catherine. She was having difficulty speaking English and bonding with O'Connell, Catherine said. Catherine said she would write notes of apology to her mother whenever disputes arose, while Brenda stubbornly refused. She said she did not tell her doctors or therapists about being hit.

"I loved my mom and I didn't want her to go to jail," Brenda said. "And my mom had this thing where she would tell me how terrible it would be if I went to foster care."

Catherine is expected to testify Friday afternoon about what happened the night her mother died.