Mom who blamed Satan after she killed son found not guilty

Publish date: 2024-06-05

An Illinois mother who blamed Satan after she stabbed her eight-year-old son to death has been found not guilty by reason of insanity. 

Jody Kossow's son Thomas was found with 55 stab wounds after his mother attacked him believing the devil was chasing her. 

A chilling recording of her phone call to a 911 operator was played to a Winnebago County court in December, during which she said: 'I just killed my son. Satan was coming after me. Oh, God. Satan was after me.' 

In spite of the confession, Kossow was deemed to be innocent due to her mental health status and Judge John Lowry sent her for 100 years of confinement at the Illinois Department of Human service instead of sentencing her to a prison sentence.

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Chilling: Mom Jody Kossow (left) told 911 she stabbed son Thomas (right) to death because Satan was 'coming after' her. Her defense told the court Tuesday that she was criminally insane

Video courtesy of WREX News: 

The killing took place on the night of September 10, 2013, when Kossow's then-husband Michael and their daughter were both asleep.

Thomas, who had trouble sleeping, had asked his mom if they could go outside and look at the stars.

Shortly afterward, the court heard, she retrieved a paring knife from the kitchen in Rockford and slashed and stabbed him more than 55 times.

His throat was cut seven times, his lungs and heart were stabbed repeatedly and his hands and arms had defensive wounds. 

At least two of the wounds penetrated his spine.

Both 911 audio and dash camera video recorded Kossow screaming as officers took her into custody. 

One officer testified that she smashed her own head into the ground.

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Two mental health assessments, one each for both the prosecution and the defense, both concluded that Kossow was criminally insane when she killed Thomas.

That means, they say, she wasn't capable of understanding that she was committing a criminal act.

Partly those statements were based on a number of odd behaviors and strange beliefs about witchcraft and religion, they said. 

Kossow's family members testified that she was a Wiccan. 

According to prosecutors she was obsessed with witchcraft, WIFR reported.

Kossow herself had pleaded not guilty.

Attack: Kossow attacked her son outside their home (pictured) in September 2013. She then called police. The DA's office claims she knew what she was doing. A verdict will come on Jan 5

Attack: Kossow attacked her son outside their home (pictured) in September 2013. She then called police. The DA's office claims she knew what she was doing. A verdict will come on Jan 5

But Marilyn Hite Ross, criminal bureau chief for the Winnebago County State's Attorney's office, said the psychiatrists' reports came two years after the killing and didn't explain why Kossow appeared lucid and controlled when police arrived.

She also said the woman had not had any previous mental health diagnoses.

Judge Lowry is taking the place of a jury, at Kossow's request. 

By finding Kassow not guilty by reason of insanity, she will be placed in a psychiatric hospital until she is deemed not to be a threat to society.

She could have been found guilty but mentally ill, which would have meant a prison sentence during which she is given medication and mental health aid. 

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