Lightwine and her son were found in a field in Morrisville near Highway 215 and South 127 on August 29.
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Prosecutors in southwestern Missouri’s Polk County charged Kimberly Lightwine, 42, on Saturday with second-degree murder in Austin Anderson’s death, although information about the case wasn’t released until Tuesday.
Lightwine had a broken leg when she was found August 29 near Anderson’s body. Lightwine was found nearby in the field, lying face down wearing nothing but a pair of panties.
A Missouri woman kept her autistic son in a field for days without food, water or his medication until he died, police said. She said she remembered driving to the field.
“I’m a awful mother, I got high, and I got depressed, and I think I am going to throw up”.
A probable cause statement filed by police quote Lightwine as saying: “I killed my kid”.
“Get out of the vehicle and go reach for help”.
‘Put your hands in front of you for help, and God is going to take care of you’.
“I don’t know, at least several days”, she told investigators. Authorities believe he may have been dead for three days prior to being found. Lightwine reportedly told him, “Billy, I killed my son”.
“I don’t know why I did”. “I don’t remember why I was, just mad as. hell”. “Please let God take you”. I don’t know. I don’t know what I was thinking’. Moments later, Simpson wrote, Lightwine told the investigator “she did not want her son to die but that she wanted someone to reach out and take her baby”.
The statement said Lightwine thought “bad mother (expletive) were coming”.
Lightwine eventually told the detective that she didn’t want to talk anymore. I’m not saying it wasn’t her fault, and I’m not saying anything.
Anderson’s father told police that his son was autistic and blind in both eyes. He said Anderson completely depended on his mother for his care. She said he was blind and couldn’t walk or take care of himself. He recalled an incident in which Anderson kicked Lightwine and she reacted violently by grabbing him and cussing at him.
An autopsy showed the son had a swollen brain from dehydration and could have gone into shock after not taking a vital medication, court documents say. Extended exposure to the elements on a hot day also was cited as a cause of death. Online court records don’t list an attorney to speak on Lightwine’s behalf.
In a police search of a motel room in Bolivar, where Ligthwine and her son were staying, deputies found Anderson’s medication and a substance that tested positive for meth. She is not in jail, likely because she is still in a hospital.
Lightwine was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree elder abuse – due to the disabled child being over 18 – on September 3. Lightwine, whose bond was set at $250,000, also is charged with elder abuse, a crime that also pertains to acts against disabled adults.
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A graveside service for Anderson is scheduled for Wednesday in Butterfield, near where Anderson’s father lives in Barry County.
