Mich. mom pleads guilty to abuse of autistic daughter

ASSOCIATED PRESS

10 years ago

This undated file photo provided by the Stapleton family via the Traverse City Record-Eagle, shows Isabelle “Issy” Stapleton, right, and her mother, Kelli, in Elberta, Mich. Kelli Stapleton, a 45-year-old northern Michigan woman, was accused of accused of trying to kill herself and her daughter by carbon monoxide poisoning. She pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Stapleton Family via Traverse City Record-Eagle, File)

This undated file photo provided by the Stapleton family via the Traverse City Record-Eagle, shows Isabelle “Issy” Stapleton with her father, Matt, in Elberta, Mich. Isabelle’s mother, Kelli Stapleton, a 45-year-old Northern Michigan woman, was accused of trying to kill herself and her daughter last year. She pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Stapleton Family via Traverse City Record-Eagle, File)

Kelli Stapleton of northern Michigan, accused of trying to kill her autistic daughter, pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Benzie County Sheriff, File)

BEULAH, Mich. — A northern Michigan woman accused of trying to kill her autistic daughter has pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse.

Benzie County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Tang-Anderson says Kelli Stapleton entered the plea Tuesday morning. Stapleton had been scheduled to go on trial Wednesday on a charge of attempted murder.

Tang-Anderson says no sentencing date was set. The maximum punishment for the charge is life in prison.

The 46-year-old Stapleton is accused of trying to kill herself and her teenage daughter last year by carbon monoxide poisoning by igniting charcoal grills inside a van.

Isabelle was 14 at the time. She has severe autism and sometimes has violent outbursts.

Stapleton’s blog had chronicled the challenges her family faced while caring for her.