Who is Jennifer Joseph? Philadelphia mom stabs and drowns boy, 5, in bathtub and says 'good he's out of misery'
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: A mother charged in the death of her five-year-old son appeared "normal" and said it was good "he's out of his misery now" just moments after she had killed him, the child's father has revealed.
Jennifer Joseph was charged with murder and child endangerment in the death of Devon, as per the Associated Press. Joseph, 40, was held on suspicion of stabbing and then drowning her son in her Philadelphia home on Monday night, October 12. The authorities have revealed that the child and mother were alone at the time of the incident.
While speaking to The Sun, Devon's devastated father Donald Joseph shared that he had found the child's body floating in the bath when he had arrived home from work at around 10 pm at night. According to the police, Devon was lying face down and had a cut on his neck. Less than 24 hours after making the discovery, Donald said, "This is so hard for me (to talk about)." Donald had said his wife Jennifer seemed to be calm and composed and only said one thing to him as he tried to make sense of what had happened.
"She basically said: 'It's good he's out of his misery now'," Donald told The Sun. He did not understand what exactly she meant by that comment as Devon "loved his mom and she loved him." He added, "I still don't know what happened. I never thought she'd hurt him. If I had any idea about that obviously I wouldn't have let him be alone with her."
"He was a very special boy, a loved boy who played piano and was so intelligent," he continued. Soon after he found his son, medics arrived at the scene and tried to perform CPR on the child. He was then rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Investigators are treating the incident as a homicide and an attempted suicide. Jennifer had self-inflicted stab wounds to her wrist but is said to be in a stable condition. The police have revealed that she will be in custody after she is treated for her injuries. Donald revealed how Jennifer had suffered from anxiety and depression and had stopped taking her medication in September. She had become very agitated and aggressive and had begun to spiral into a 'dark' place. Donald shared that she had suffered from the first of "two episodes" when she had allegedly threatened to kill him and her parents in September.
"She was getting darker and said ‘we’re all going to die’. I was going to die and her parents were going to die. My only concern was that she would do something to me, I never imagined she’d do something to hurt him," he revealed before adding that Devon was the only person she was always calm around. "She was the sweetest mom to Devon. I was stricter and harder on him and she was always the more sensitive and caring one. She never hit him," he added. However, she eventually did something much worse to Devon.
Distraught neighbors left tributes for Devon outside the apartment building including blue balloons, candles, and messages.