A mother in Wisconsin who killed her 8-year-old son and attempted to kill her 11-year-old son will spend the rest of her life in a mental facility with the state Department of Health Services.
Judge Daniel J. Borowski has sentenced Natalia Hitchcock to the mental facility for the death of her son, Oliver Hitchcock, in March 2022, Fox 6 reports.
Hitchcock had a second charge of attempted first-degree homicide dismissed in a plea deal with prosecutors. However, it was read into the court record. Her attorney asked for a 40-year sentence, which was denied.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Hitchcock strangled Oliver with both hands, by her own admission, until his face began losing color in their Sheboygan Falls apartment. She then grabbed a kitchen knife and began stabbing herself. Police found her in a bedroom of the apartment off Plank Trail Lane.
Oliver was lying unresponsive on his back in the living room. Responding officers noted signs of strangulation and blue and white tints on his face.
When asked why she harmed her child, Hitchcock told investigators that she thought the Russian government would take her children, including Oliver and his 11-year-old sibling. Hitchcock said she wanted to kill the youngest one because he was the most vulnerable to being abused by kidnappers.
Hitchcock added that she thought people had been looking at her strangely, talking about her, and that even a Russian spy planned on taking her children.
Hitchcock’s husband told investigators that her parents live in Russia and that she had been increasingly upset with the war between Russia and Ukraine, CBS Milwaukee reports. She had also talked about buying guns and survival gear, her husband said.
When questioned whether she tried to hurt her children before, Hitchcock allegedly admitted to an incident where she “dipped” her 11-year-old son in water so he could realize his situation around him and how everyone could die.
The 11-year-old told investigators that he felt his mother’s entire body weighing down on him as she held him underwater in a bathtub. Once he managed to escape, he saw his mother with a knife and began screaming. His mother then put the knife away and hugged him, according to what the child told investigators.
When Hitchcock learned that Oliver had died, she replied, “Well, I guess I accomplished what I set out to do then.”
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Feature Photo: School Photo of Oliver Hitchcock]
