To the bridge A true story of motherhood and murder

Early in the morning of May 23, 2009, Amanda Stott-Smith did the unthinkable: she dropped her four-year-old son, Eldon, and seven-year-old daughter, Trinity, off a Portland bridge into the river below. Eldon died; Trinity survived. In this well-researched book, Rommelmann, a local journalist, digs into the mind and life of Amanda, following her inquest, trial, and sentencing. Public opinion is quick to rise against the mother, but the author painstakingly sifts through interviews to discover the why behind the crime. Rommelmann uncovers a history of drug and alcohol abuse by both parents as well as husband Jason's mental and physical abuse and Amanda's erratic behavior. The children, who did come to the attention of services, managed to survive despite neglect and abuse, lying to protect their parents from law officials. Rommelmann spoke with lawyers who have defended child killers (including Amanda's attorney) and specialists who have studied the phenomenon. Although Amanda and most of her family refused to talk to Rommelmann, she was, nonetheless, able to paint a heartbreaking portrait of the mother and her victims.--Smith, Candace Copyright 2010 Booklist

"I wondered whether looking into the murder of a child by its mother was like staring into a prism in your hand: the more you turned it, the more possibilities beam back," journalist Rommelmann (Bad Mothers) writes in this true account of a mother who killed her four-year-old son. In the early hours of May 23, 2009, Amanda Stott-Smith took her son, Eldon, and his seven-year-old sister, Trinity, to the Sellwood Bridge in Portland, Ore., and pushed them over the railing. They fell over 90 feet before hitting the water: Eldon died, Trinity survived. The author, who lives in Portland, attended Stott-Smith's May 26 arraignment and spent the next seven years researching the case. She explores the personal circumstances- that could have led Stott-Smith, who is serving a 35-year sentence, to commit such a crime, such as the end of her marriage and losing custody of her children. Rommelmann writes about the devastating effect of the murder on Gavin, Stott-Smith's son from a previous relationship. Stott-Smith's grandmother Jackie Dreiling sums up the question on everyone's mind: "How do you understand the not understandable and forgive the unforgiveable?" Rommelmann employs compassion and emotional honesty in her investigation to try to comprehend the motivations behind the crime and its aftermath, helping readers understand the implications, if not the answer, to Dreiling's question. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

A deep probe into why a mother murdered her child.On May 23, 2009, why did Amanda Stott-Smith drop her 4-year-old son, Eldon, and 7-year-old daughter, Trinity, off the middle of a bridge and into the Willamette River more than 90 feet below? (Trinity survived, but Eldon was killed.) That was the nagging question that prompted Rommelmann (Transportation, 2013, etc.) to investigate the years leading up to that moment and the fallout that changed the lives of so many in just a few seconds. The author has thoroughly researched the incident and bolsters her analysis with interviews with friends, family members from both sides of the children's family, Stott-Smith's legal counsel, and others, revealing a twisted tale of abuse and victimization, drug dependency, affairs, and revenge. Stott-Smith and her husband, Jason, the father of Eldon and Trinity, did not have an ideal relationship by any means, with physical, emotional, and verbal abuse coming from both sides of the marriage. The children, including Stott-Smith's older son by a previous relationship, were often caught in the middle of their parents' arguments and suffered greatly for it. Extended family members meddled in the couple's business, increasing the animosity on all sides, and Jason's drug use and control issues added more layers to a complex situation. A friend at the time said that Stott-Smith "lived a classic abused life, more mental than physicalJason controlled her like a communist.He didn't want her to go anywhere or do anything. She was a prisoner." Rommelmann's presentation of all the details, although at times repetitious and overworked, is also unrelenting, as she builds her case toward an almost empathetic end given the emotional and psychological state Stott-Smith was in at the time of the incident.A painstaking and meticulous exploration of all the facts and conjectures surrounding a disturbing case. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.