00:00A mother promises her son she will murder him before his 18th birthday.
00:05And when that doesn't happen fast enough, she calls 911.
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00:34It's 4.15 a.m. on a cold February morning in Michigan when a 911 operator answers what
00:41has to be the strangest call of her career.
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00:46Hi, I need an officer here immediately.
00:49Okay, to where?
00:51Um, Bay Point Apartments.
00:53Okay, what's going on?
00:55My son won't stop breathing.
00:57He won't stop what?
00:59Breathing?
01:00He won't stop breathing?
01:01Right.
01:02Okay.
01:03Like, is he breathing too fast?
01:04I don't know.
01:05They were going to leave yesterday and it got way out of hand.
01:06And I couldn't get him to stop breathing like he made me promise to do.
01:08So when 40-year-old Katie Austin Lee tells the operator they were supposed to leave yesterday
01:15and that things got out of hand, she's not talking about missing an appointment or running
01:23late.
01:24She's talking about a murder-suicide.
01:25She's talking about a murder-suicide.
01:26Specifically, one involving her 17-year-old son, Austin Pickhart.
01:30Around 1 p.m.
01:31On February 20th, Katie gave him what she later describes as a cocktail of random medications.
01:35Prescription drugs mixed with over-the-counter sleeping pills.
01:37The plan, as she explains it, was for him to fall asleep and not wake up.
01:41She says she took a large amount too because she intended to go with him, except it didn't work.
01:44It didn't kill either of them.
01:45It just knocked Austin unconscious.
01:46Which is why hours later, she's on the phone with 911, confused, frustrated, and
02:02asymptomatic.
02:03And she was like, oh, you want to go out?
02:05And she's not kidding.
02:06I don't know.
02:07I mean, I'm sorry.
02:08I'm sorry.
02:09frustrated, and asking for help because her son is still breathing. And that's where this story
02:16officially leaves the realm of tragic and enters, how did we get here? Okay, so is he asking you to
02:23kill him? I don't understand. Yeah, that's what I've been doing for a while. And I can't get him
02:32to stop breathing. By now, police are already on the way to the apartment. And while that's getting
02:37handled, the operator keeps Katie on the line, asking questions, taking notes, trying to piece
02:43together what's already happened. How old is your son? He is going to be 18 tomorrow, but he didn't
02:51want to turn 18. She goes on to explain she and Austin made what she calls a murder pact. The
02:58reason? So he wouldn't have to turn 18 on February 22nd. Just pause on that.
03:06She thought it was going to be easy to overdose him. It wasn't. So she made another choice.
03:12Okay, where did you cut? Did you cut him?
03:17He got out of hand. Okay, what happened?
03:23He, it was supposed to just be easy and he was just going to go to sleep.
03:30And it didn't work. And he kept telling me not to let him go to the hospital. Okay.
03:39And while the operator is just trying to keep her talking until police get there,
03:43Katie starts explaining herself. Not apologizing, not panicking. Explaining why she says she had to
03:49kill her son. I didn't do this out of hatred. It was out of love. Okay. The world is not going to be
03:59okay for him. Okay. And it's worth stopping for a second to talk about Austin. Not the version you
04:06hear about on the phone call. The actual kid. People who knew him describe him as a character
04:11in the best way. He loved cats. He was into science. He was a space nerd. He liked fishing,
04:17video games, and riding roller coasters. In his obituary, he's remembered as an exceedingly
04:22interesting character, which feels right. And whatever Katie believed about the world or
04:28what she thought she was sparing him from, Austin should not have suffered like this.
04:34And then she goes on to explain how she hurt him. Where did you cut him? It was only supposed to
04:40be one. Okay. It was supposed to be one, but how many are there? So there's three. Okay. Where did
04:47you cut him? We'll see. When police arrive, Katie answers the door. She's covered in blood, holding a
04:56large kitchen knife up near her shoulder. Not in a subtle way, more in a, you should probably stop right
05:02their way. According to court documents, officers tell her to drop the knife. She doesn't. So they
05:08tase her and she throws the knife into the hallway. Problem solved. Except it's not. She lunges for it
05:14again. So they tase her again and that's how they finally arrest her. While she's in handcuffs, she tells
05:21officers something else. She says they were supposed to kill her so she could be with her son. Inside the
05:28apartment, officers find Austin Dean Pickard, 17 years old, lying in his bed. There's blood
05:34everywhere. His throat has been cut. There's also a deep cut on his arm. Katie tells them again that this
05:41was what he wanted because he didn't want to turn 18 on February 22nd. So she told him she would murder
05:48him. And she says it like that, like a promise she kept. Originally, this is headed toward a full trial
05:55for first-degree murder. But before it ever gets that far, Katie takes a deal. She agrees to plead
06:01guilty to second-degree murder, resisting an officer, and, just to really underline how serious this is,
06:08a separate count of torture. And then comes the part that's hard to listen to. In court, the judge
06:14walks through exactly what happened, point by point, and Katie is asked to do something very simple.
06:20Admit it.
06:22And you are the mother of Austin, correct?
06:25I am.
06:26And on that date, he was 17 years old, a minor?
06:29Yes.
06:35And did you administer a drug or a sedative to him?
06:40I did.
06:41As a result of administering that drug or sedative to him, was he unable to have control over his body?
06:48He was.
06:51I'm sorry?
06:52Yes.
06:54So you administered a drug, and thereby he no longer had physical control of his body. Is that true?
07:00True.
07:01And then you then exercised physical control over his body. Is that fair to say?
07:06Yes.
07:07And while you had him under your control, did you intentionally inflict severe mental pain or anguish on him?
07:18Yes.
07:20And did you administer a mind-altering substance to him?
07:24Yes.
07:25And that was done deliberately?
07:26Yes.
07:27And by the administering of that mind-altering drug, did that disrupt his sense of personality, his senses or personality?
07:36Yes.
07:41You then, is it true that while he was under your control and unconscious, that you then had a knife? Is that true?
07:49Yes.
07:49And did you cut his arm on at least two occasions?
07:55Yes.
07:55And then did you also use that knife to slice his throat?
08:01Yes.
08:02As a result of you slicing his throat, did that result in his death?
08:08Yes.
08:09Once the record is clear, the court decides what comes next, which is 60 to 90 years in prison.
08:17And at her sentencing, the judge gives her a chance to speak.
08:21At the time, I was too sick to see past our own pain and fear to grasp on which it would hurt the ones we love the most.
08:27I never intended for him to suffer in any way.
08:31In my broken thinking, I was saving him from it.
08:34Every day, every thought, every nightmare, every flashback, every moment without him, I'll forever be punished.
08:41But I know that's not enough.
08:44I'll spend the rest of my life in prison trying to process what I could have done differently and how I could have reached out.
08:51Katie is in her early 40s now, so when the court says 60 to 90 years, what they really mean is, this is it.
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