Baby Killed In Microwave: Ka Yang, California Woman, Blames Blackouts For Death

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Northern California woman accused of killing her baby in a microwave oven was arraigned Thursday on murder charges that could lead to the death penalty if she is convicted.

Prosecutors charged Ka Yang, 29, with one count of murder with the special circumstance that the killing was intentional and involved torture, which would make her eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without parole, the Sacramento Bee reported.

Authorities found Yang's 6-week-old daughter, Mirabelle Thao-Lo, dead in the family home in Sacramento on March 17.

Officials say the child suffered "extensive thermal injuries." The girl was burned from head-to-toe, but authorities could not find an obvious source for the burns when they arrived at the home, according to the affidavit written by Sacramento Police Detective Thomas Shrum.

The infant's pajamas and hair were not singed. A pacifier, however, was found in the microwave, Shrum said.

Yang initially told investigators she blacked out while working on the computer with Mirabelle in her arms and woke up on the ground with the baby injured next to a space heater. Although she had a history of seizures, paramedics did not find her to be disoriented when they arrived, according to the affidavit.

When detectives pointed out inconsistencies in her story, Yang later acknowledged she lied and said she might have a split personality, the affidavit said.

Police interviewed Yang's family and co-workers as well as pathologists who have worked on microwave burn cases in the months after the infant's death. They have not established a possible motive.

"Nothing (Yang) gave us explained what led up to the baby being killed," police spokesman Norm Leong told the Bee.

Yang was arrested Tuesday after a monthslong investigation into what caused the baby's severe burn injuries.

She did not enter a plea in court Thursday.

Yang's attorney, Linda Parisi, told reporters after the hearing that her client might have psychological issues.

The woman's other three children, all under age 7, were removed from the home the day their sister was found dead. They are now living with relatives.

Comments

[David Beeotch Litton]

10:16 PM on 07/02/2011

Anyone who commits this type of atrocity is clearly insane. And it's not a question of whether or not she was in her right mind when she murdered her child; it's a simple matter that this type of act could never fall under the definition of the term "sane" as it is understood by the majority of humanity. Do I think she's crazy? Yes. Should this be an excuse when it comes time to sentence her? Absolutely not.

[Oscar Groom]

02:00 AM on 06/25/2011

She could have thought that the microwave death would be hard to determine. An amateur mistake. Putting the baby inside a *** *** *** *** would have been a better idea. (censored kill method)

[BobSacomano]

02:22 PM on 06/25/2011

Huh?? WTH?

[abmabardy]

11:32 PM on 06/24/2011

There are so many people desperately wanting to adopt children, especially newborns. The adoption process is so long and difficult, however, that both prospective donors and prospective parents often just give up. Perhaps this woman might have thought about giving up this child had the process been more simple.

I guess I just have to believe there might be a way to avoid this kind of tragedy in the future. It is just too horrific to believe. That sweet innocent little angel, born into the world wanting only to be loved and cared for. I am so shaken by this.

[Gerald OHare]

08:56 PM on 06/24/2011

If she is not insane then who is?

[stevechengmead]

05:16 PM on 06/25/2011

Of course, EVERY ONE that kills somebody is insane right ? They must be. they need help, they probably need understanding and rehabilitation , right ?

[Gerald OHare]

10:12 PM on 06/25/2011

Murders are done for many reasons aren't they. Mostly for money and also a crime of passion. This however is different. The brutality of the murder is mind numbing to me. Mothers usuallly are protective of their children but sometimes insanity like depression sends some women over the edge. It is the nature of the murder that chills me down to my bones. We do punish people for their actions but we are also aware that sometimes just sometimes mental disorders occur and people do things that we wouldn't think of even in our worst nightmares. For a mother to place her baby into a microwave oven and kill it is one of those examples of pure insanity. It is the method of death that places this story into the realm of insanity. You do understand that I am placing this case in a different light than the ordinary run of the mill murders. She needs to be put away for the rest of her life. You can not rehabilitate someone from this level of insanity. There are some people who can not be cured and still pose a danger to society. This is one of those cases.

[Gerald OHare]

05:05 PM on 06/26/2011

Please show me where I used the word "everyone".

[stuff7321]

08:20 PM on 06/24/2011

I believe that this woman should be locked away for the rest of her life. What she did was reprehensible. I'm certainly not defending her, but I think she just might have been under some pressures that most of us don't go through. She is Southeast Asian; there is a large community here. Those women come from a culture that only educates women because it is unlawful not to educate them. They are often married when they are in high school. They are the translators and the liaisons for their parents who often still don't speak English because they found the language too difficult to master. Female family members bear the burden of doing everything for the family. The males don't have this responsibility. Females often have a child or more before graduating from high school. Then they become responsible for their own families. This woman had children later than most, but was she thinking about the kind of life her daughter might have lead? We just don't know what her personal situation was like. But still, she should spend life in prison at the very least.

[the-lexicon]

12:03 AM on 06/25/2011

you're a fool.

[stuff7321]

12:51 AM on 06/25/2011

If stating a possible context for her actions makes me a fool, then so be it. What do you know about that community in specific?

[Halsey]

01:53 PM on 06/24/2011

This woman cannot be sane; nor should she ever be free again. Life in a mental hospital..no get out of jail card. I can't stand this story; it is beyond the stuff of nightmares. Maybe it is time for the giant asteroid...let life start over somewhere else.

[trolololololol12]

12:28 PM on 06/24/2011

Let's just use the "I have a mental illness" excuse for everything we do now. It's way more easier than taking the blame for our own actions... If a boss sexually harasses an employee, he can just say "Oh, I have a mental illness and couldn't control myself." A kid shoplifts, the parent can say "Oh, my child has a mental illness and didn't mean to do it."

[jasonball]

01:23 PM on 06/24/2011

I have very little trouble believing that somebody who puts their child in a microwave has a mental illness. What you say about taking responsibility, it's almost as if you're saying, "Look we all want to do things like that but we control ourselves, we use our will power and we take responsibility, this lady didn't." If it even seriously occurs to you as an option that you should put your child in the microwave, but you 'take responsibility' and use your force of will to overcome that impulse, you STILL have a mental illness. I just find it comically absurd that one of your comparative analyses to cooking your baby is adolescent shoplifting. Nice trololowhatever. If you think this is a normal impulse I think you ought to get your head examined too.

[trolololololol12]

04:56 PM on 06/24/2011

Sarcasm
sar·casm /ˈsärˌkazəm/
Noun: The use of irony to mock or convey contempt.

[the-lexicon]

12:04 AM on 06/25/2011

can you think of a better example of insanity?

no.

[madame fate]

12:26 PM on 06/24/2011

I blacked out. No, I might have a split personality. No, maybe post-partum depression. No, I was obsessed by a demon. No, I was going to cook some soup and I had to put the baby down while I was in the kitchen so I put her in the microwave... No, I had my hands full and the microwave was empty, so... No, I - gosh, how many more excuses can I come up with? Not nearly enough, but give me a lawyer and some time and I'm sure I'll find something that'll stick...

[the-lexicon]

12:05 AM on 06/25/2011

let me ask you this:

would you do this, if you weren't insane?

the girl is insane. that's all.

insane. needs some therapy. Like, 50 years of it.

[Steve Albert]

01:39 AM on 06/25/2011

it's actually quite simple,...... if she did it kill her..... end of story... an eye for an eye

[heskett1974]

10:53 AM on 06/24/2011

This is to those of you who pity her for having too many kids too fast. I understand where you are coming from, but can you think for just one second how that baby felt being cooked from the inside out? This was a long, drawn out, painful death... she wanted that baby to suffer.

I am curious to know what kind of mother she was to the others. If they all had the same father, and if not did she have trauma or ill will stemming from that relationship.

I refuse to just deem her a postpartum psychosis victim and to put her in some mental health treatment and call it a day. That poor baby suffered the kind of pain that 99+% of us will never comprehend. It is not acceptable to just sweep this under the rug.

[the-lexicon]

12:07 AM on 06/25/2011

thank goodness you live down in the south where I'll never have to meet you.

If I did meet you, I'd have to ask if the car wash was finished.

keep your childish reasonings to your self.

[heskett1974]

11:41 AM on 06/25/2011

wait... what?

A) I am not sure what makes you think I live down south LOL, because I don't.

B) I concluded no reasoning's at all. I simply pondered questions to her background with this child. I wonder if the others have been abused. If this is a trend with her or an isolated incident. These are the same kind of questions the investigators will be asking BTW. I am not dismissing postpartum psychosis, because it may be that. But it might not. I would just like more facts from the story before I come to a conclusion.

C) your car wash statement makes zero sense LOL... so I will just laugh at it.

I suggest re-reading my comment. There are absolutely people who murder children out of spite. I am not saying that was the case here. I am simply saying I would like to know more because it is a possibility. I am also really concerned about the lack of compassion being shown for the victim in this case. The baby. Your response to me did not include a single word about what the baby went through.

If indeed, she suffers from postpartum psychosis, then I hope she gets the treatment she needs... but honestly I am more concerned for the deceased baby and her other kids left behind. I find the whole case sad and disturbing.

[Howard53545]

06:18 AM on 06/24/2011

Horrible crime. No trial needed here, just humanely take her out. Send her to the Vet for the fatal sick doggie shot.

[NicholasGrillo]

10:28 AM on 06/24/2011

too easy. she doesnt deserve that gesture. although i do like the cost of procedure as compared to what we pay for humans as taxpayers.

[Steve Rotert]

02:20 AM on 06/24/2011

I wonder if that would have worked on my D.U.I. charge.

[LogicalMathMan]

01:01 AM on 06/24/2011

I remember Andrea Yates drowning her 5 kids in TX. No mother who has bonded with her child through pregnancy and birth can do this without being mentally unstable.

[JoanneRM]

10:34 PM on 06/23/2011

Oops. Almost missed this one. Six week old baby, 4 children within 7 years. This sounds like Postpartum psychosis. It is a complete separation from reality and is obviously dangerous. It is much more severe than postpartum depression, and is a true psychosis triggered by pregnancy and childbirth. "it involves the onset of psychotic symptoms that may include thought disturbances, delusions, hallucinations and/or disorganized speech or behavior."

It is not "split personality" which is an entirely different disorder. It is likely that she was unaware that it was she that was killing the baby. I suspect she will need to be institutionalized for six months or more, but will eventually be alright. Fortunately, there are some new medications that treat psychosis well. The kind she seems to have is not likely to be permanent if treated in a timely manner. It is too bad that her family didn't see that she wasn't alright before this. It must have been obvious that she was not alright, but they ignored her symptoms. They are more responsible than she is. She is sick, but they aren't.

[dbrett480]

10:54 PM on 06/23/2011

6 months in a hospital for murder?

[cafebeege]

11:09 PM on 06/23/2011

Absolutely agree with all you said. Don't know anything about the new meds available, but do not personally know any woman who could go through the massive hormone fluctuations of 4 pregnancies in 7 yrs. with out dramatic reprecussions. YEEES....I can hear it now. There will be defensive posts disagreeing. That's fine all of you who think women you know did. But I remember friends of my mother's having 7-9 children, and some had numerous "nervous breakdowns" as they were called in those days. (This woman was headed for it with 4 children in 7 yrs. Not ALL women's bodies can handle it. So please stop putting everyone in the same level of expectation. We definitely need to educate society on this so families can be more attentive during those months and years following birth.

And for men, and those women even, who refuse to give the benefit of doubt to something they can't understand.....I'd love to see them injected with massive hormones until they themselves felt the mental/emotional/physical ramifications of it. They would have their minds and understanding changed forever.

[bilo77]

04:10 AM on 06/24/2011

"Injected with massive hormones..."

Yes, as if she was raped and forced to father a rapists' children.

There are many things in life that can cause psychological breakdowns, and not all of them are the result (direct or indirect) of conscious choice. Anyone else who snaps (for reasons much more horrifying than getting pregnant too many times) gets zero sympathy from professionals or fly-by web commentary.

I've worked in a state mental hopspital... that would have your mind and understanding forever changed -- a place where hormone imbalances are the least of one's problems. There were many people who get shat upon by society and would never hurt a bug during their biggest breakdowns, and it's nothing that can even be traced down to life choices that put them there yet are labelled threats to society.

[aidendamien]

10:15 PM on 06/23/2011

She needs to suffer as much as anyone should suffer in life. Slowly, but only within a week time. This is just amazing.

[the-lexicon]

12:08 AM on 06/25/2011

you're a sadist. you should seek help

[The Insider]

10:03 PM on 06/23/2011

Don't miss today's government-linked pedophile bust!

News Story: Falls Church, Virginia Council Member's Husband Charged With Sexual Battery
of three 13 year old Girls.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Sexual-Battery-Arrest-124441939.html

Time and time again I've stated that "There's a "psycho sex-cult" in our government organized through the whitehouse"!

[LogicalMathMan]

12:59 AM on 06/24/2011

Are you also a 911 truther, because you make as much sense with your unsubstantiated government association to this man, who in all likelihood is a Repub.