A woman in Indiana suspected of having untreated schizophrenic disorder reportedly tried to suffocate a child in a grotesque way. Kendra Lee Proctor, 37, was taken into custody and charged with one count of attempted murder but also one count of molesting a child under age 14, because she sat on a 1-year-old girl’s face while not wearing pants or underwear. According to Fox 59, an unnamed adult and unnamed juvenile witness were there when authorities arrived and detailed to them the horrific events that unfolded.
Proctor was watching what was described as a “Godly” movie, when the adult witness claimed she began acting strangely and asking “weird” questions, according to Law & Crime. The witness said she then went to go check on the 1-year-old girl. That’s when she found Proctor sitting on the child’s face with no clothes covering her bottom half and the child screaming “bloody murder.” Reports state the witness told officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department that she proceeded to “beat the f— out of” Proctor after finding her in that position.
After medics checked out and cleared the infant, police detained Proctor, who reportedly admitted to trying to suffocate the child. During an interview with the witnesses, they claimed Proctor said, “I thought this is what you wanted me to do” and “this is what I’m supposed to do” to the adult witness, per Law & Crime. The adult witness also claimed Proctor told her she could have a better life. Police learned during their witness interview that Proctor may be schizophrenic.
The juvenile witness denied that Proctor molested her, but audio tapes from the car ride reviewed by police reportedly captured the child saying to the adult witness that Proctor touched her and instructed her to “open her legs,” according to Fox 59. She also claimed Proctor told her that she wanted to “sacrifice” her, which Proctor later admitted to, as well as admitting that she also wanted to “sacrifice” the 1-year-old.
Beyond her confirmation that she tried to suffocate the infant, per the affidavit, Proctor “couldn’t give a coherent answer” when police asked her to elaborate further. She did claim that sitting on the child’s face was a sexual intention but claimed it would “get her money.” When police pressed, she could not clarify how it would do so. Proctor also admitted she told the juvenile witness she “would stick her finger up her butt if (the juvenile witness) didn’t stop saying crazy s— to her.”
“Marion County Jail logs indicate Proctor has been preliminarily charged with molesting a child under the age of 14 and attempted murder, which are Level 4 and Level 1 Felonies, respectively,” reported Fox 59. No court date has been set yet.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, both “serious mental illness” and “any mental illness” is prevalent amongst Americans. The organization defines the two similarly, the difference being that with serious mental illness, the “mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder” results in “serious functional impairment.” There are an estimated 59.3 million adults 18 or older in the United States that live with any mental illness, or about 23.1% of all adults, while 6% have a serious mental illness.
The most disturbing thing about those statistics is that among the 59.3 million adults with mental illness, only 30 million (50.6%) received mental health treatment. With serious mental illness, 10.2 million (66.7%) received mental health treatment, according to the institute. That is a lot of folks just taking it on the chin, day after day. And that kind of turmoil can plunge those affected even deeper into their mental illness. Mental health issues are never an “excuse” to commit crimes, but it is clear that when someone isn’t fully there mentally, some pretty heinous things can happen.
Just when you think you can’t be shocked by the news cycle, something like this happens and totally proves you wrong.
