Mom Admits Helping Son Build Arsenal

Bullied, Troubled Pa. Teen Was Building Grenades With Gunpowder Mom Bought, Planning School Attack, Prosecutors Say

(AP)  A woman admitted she helped her troubled, bullied 14-year-old son build a cache of weapons by buying him a rifle and gunpowder, but investigators still don't know if she was aware her son was planning a deadly school attack.

Michele Cossey, 46, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Norristown to one count of child endangerment. She admitted that she bought him a rifle with a laser scope and gunpowder, which investigators said he was using to build grenades.

Prosecutors said her son, Dillon, came to idolize the Columbine High School shooters and was planning an attack last year on Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, which some former schoolmates attended.

Cossey, bullied over his weight, had left public school in seventh grade and was being home-schooled. Over time, violent Internet sites fueled his revenge fantasies, his defense lawyer said after his juvenile court plea.

Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Christopher Parisi said he thought purchasing the weapons was "an attempt to boost his self-esteem, and in some way help the child, as misplaced as those thoughts may have been."

Michelle Cossey's sentencing hearing won't happen until after she undergoes a psychiatric evaluation. The maximum possible prison term is 3½ to 7 years, but her defense attorney she could get less than a year - or even just probation - under sentencing guidelines.

Parisi said he doesn't know if Cossey knew about her son's attack plans, but that he hopes to learn that before sentencing.

"If it were to come out that she knew he was planning an attack ... that would certainly increase the severity of the crime," he said.

The judge who sentenced Dillon Cossey to a juvenile treatment facility, where he could remain until his 21st birthday, said that Michele Cossey had fostered a "me-and-mom-against-the-world" attitude in her only child.

Authorities did not think the school attack was imminent, but the boy did amass an arsenal - knives, swords, BB guns, the rifle and partly assembled homemade grenades - in his bedroom at his Plymouth Township home.

Police learned of the planned attack when Cossey invited a friend to join him. The friend went to police last fall.

Michelle Cossey has had twice-a-month supervised visits with her son, is missing him and wants him back home, defense lawyer Tim Woodward said.

"Her ultimate goal is to be reunited with her son," the attorney said. "She does admit that she made some mistakes."

[caitlinndad]

so what did they do wrong ?

[blackyowe]

Put the whole family behind bars they are really creepy!

[txpatriot4us]

This is a " To the looney bin " story if I have ever heard one. The lady deserves to be held accountable and jailed. If one of my kids was in need of help with punks, I surely would never think of providing a GUN and Gun Powder ! What, was he supposed to be "reloading bullets"? I would start by trying to help him see his own worth and value as a person who is unique in this world. There are ways to help your kids find different activities and peers. A Church Youth Program for starters.

[newsjunky5]

Mom and son project to boost his self-image and defend him against injustice. Nothing wrong with that. If he was teased about his weight and HE had to transfer schools, the faculty and staff at the old school are incompetent. No wonder this story repeats itself, sometimes with a murderous ending.

[rwsmith29456]

Buy the kid a rifle and gunpowder. Now THAT''S a positive solution.

[newsjunky5]

She probably could have handled it better by ripping the school administrators'' a new one. I don''t think he would have been able to mount a successful attack. He was after all, a fatso.

[omded]

I don''t think the world would have missed the bullys all that much. If one of them had been shot, it would have taught the others to choose wisely who they decide to pick on. Perhaps the sentence should be determined based upon the value of the potential "victims". You are as valuable as the things you do, and the impact you have on others. A lot of the human life in this world isn''t all that precious. I say the sentence should be 1 day''s probation and be done with it. If you don''t like it, don''t be a bully.

[voidmaster-2009]

Why won''t anyone consider the real problem behind such incidents? The bullying has to stop. Until it does, such as this will continue to happen.

[rosesnpearls]

Allowing a child who is picked on for being overweight to stay at home and sit at a computer is not the way to solve the problem. Bullying is a bad problem, but a healthy personal response could have been to help the child learn a healthier life style, lose some (probably not all) weight and build a healthy self esteem.

[mjm117]

Why won''''t anyone consider the real problem behind such incidents? The bullying has to stop. Until it does, such as this will continue to happen.


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Posted by VoidMaster at 06:07 PM : Sep 23, 2008

Oh for christs sake get a grip. The real problem here is obesity. If him and him mom weren''t fat they wouldn''t have been picked on.

[mjm117]

I think they should sue McDonalds as they are clearly the culprits in this entire problem. Had they not made this family aware of the health consequences of eating 10 Big Mac''s a day, this would have never happened.

Shame on McDonalds.

[mjm117]

Correction :

**had they made**

[mjm117]

It''s not the mothers fault! It''s god''s fault for making them fat. Blame god.

[voidmaster-2009]

Oh for christs sake get a grip. The real problem here is obesity. If him and him mom weren''''t fat they wouldn''''t have been picked on.

Posted by mjm117
***
You act as though picking on someone is anything but a form of assault.

[klewt]

The real problem is neither bullying or obesity. The REAL problem is how readily available guns and explosives are to anyone who wants to commit wholesale murders. Yeah,yeah, I know -- "Guns don''t kill people, people do." But I''ve yet to hear of multiple murders committed in a crowed place without one!

[mjm117]

You act as though picking on someone is anything but a form of assault.


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Posted by VoidMaster at 06:27 PM : Sep 23, 2008



VoidMaster must have voided his common sense. It is clearly the obesity issue here. He would have led a decent life had he not been fat. But, he chose to be a fatty...so the bully''s had every right to pick on him. He deserved it. Now, the fatties should sue McDonalds and make millions.

[voidmaster-2009]

Allowing a child who is picked on for being overweight to stay at home and sit at a computer is not the way to solve the problem. Bullying is a bad problem, but a healthy personal response could have been to help the child learn a healthier life style, lose some (probably not all) weight and build a healthy self esteem.

Posted by rosesnpearls
***
This really does make my point. This guy and him mom were obviously not emotionally healthy. There are a lot of people out there like that. And our society tends to tolerate their being picked on (as though doing so was some kind of right).

Some people will only be pushed just so far. Then they explode. Keep that in mind the next time you think about picking on someone. You might just become his proverbial ''last straw.''

[omded]

It doesn''t really matter if the guy was overweight. What matters is that a group of kids decided to harrass him, presumably for being so. The kids who decided to bully this boy were probably trying to raise their own self esteem by troubling this young man. In any event, if you stick your hand in a furnace, you get burned. Nature doesn''t make exceptions to its rules so you can do what you want to do. If bullies decide to harrass someone, and they get shot as a result, well, they shouldn''t have stuck their hands in the furnace. Hey, sometimes life is tough. We live. We learn. Do stupid things. Pay the price. I see no reason to protect bad people. Let them learn their lesson.

I say: Give the mother and son one day of probation and a gun safety class. As for the bullies, make them work at McDonald''s for a year.

[mjm117]

Some people will only be pushed just so far. Then they explode. Keep that in mind the next time you think about picking on someone. You might just become his proverbial ''''last straw.''''


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Posted by VoidMaster at 06:30 PM : Sep 23, 2008


Please, those cows will never stop eating straw.

[mjm117]

We learn. Do stupid things. Pay the price. I see no reason to protect bad people. Let them learn their lesson.

I say: Give the mother and son one day of probation and a gun safety class. As for the bullies, make them work at McDonald''''s for a year.


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Posted by omded at 06:31 PM : Sep 23, 2008



Okay, I''ve been making light of this situation on purpose to show how f''d up our society is. But listen. You can go right ahead and say it''s the bully''s fault and let them get their hand burnt until YOUR CHILD get''s caught by stray bullets. COME ON. This is ludicrous. Shame on the bully''s. Shame on the mother and shame on this kid for considering mass murder. I had my day of being picked on and guess what I did? Stood up to them. I didn''t cower in some closet while I collected an arsenal of weapons so I could shoot them from far away. This kid is a p*ssy and his mother is trash.

[voidmaster-2009]

The real problem is neither bullying or obesity. The REAL problem is how readily available guns and explosives are to anyone who wants to commit wholesale murders. Yeah,yeah, I know -- "Guns don''''t kill people, people do." But I''''ve yet to hear of multiple murders committed in a crowed place without one!

Posted by klewt
***
Like someone in his state of mind would not have turned violent had there been no guns available. Think again. He could just as easily have used knives or just made his own explosives.

[voidmaster-2009]

Please, those cows will never stop eating straw.

Posted by mjm117
***
Which means what, exactly?

[omded]

Or you know, we could just carve up all of the dead bullies and turn them into Big Macs. Hey, the overweight kid was just going hunting. He needed something to eat. Why not the bullies. They weren''t good for anything anyway! Let this be a lesson to all the bullies out there, and all the bullies in training: Act like a bully, and become a Big Mac. The fat people you pick on will just eat you! Just be greatful they didn''t eat you alive.

[mjm117]

Please, those cows will never stop eating straw.

Posted by mjm117
***
Which means what, exactly?


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Posted by VoidMaster at 06:37 PM : Sep 23, 2008


nothing Voidmaster, it meant nothing.

[mjm117]

Posted by omded at 06:39 PM : Sep 23, 2008

Sounds likes someone is a little upset about their past of present to me...

[bhappy2-2]

The real problem is neither bullying or obesity. The REAL problem is how readily available guns and explosives are to anyone who wants to commit wholesale murders. Yeah,yeah, I know -- "Guns don''''''''t kill people, people do." But I''''''''ve yet to hear of multiple murders committed in a crowed place without one!

Posted by klewt

How about Oklahoma City? The Twin Towers? Do those ring a bell? Multiple murders, using explosives and airplanes. But those don''t count because they don''t fit into your agenda, right?

[mjm117]

How about Oklahoma City? The Twin Towers? Do those ring a bell? Multiple murders, using explosives and airplanes. But those don''''t count because they don''''t fit into your agenda, right?


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Posted by bhappy2-2 at 06:42 PM : Sep 23, 2008


You sound as much of a moron as the other guy. Yeah, bombs and planes really work into this particular conversation.

***.

[bhappy2-2]

Posted by mjm117

Only to the extent necessary to make a gun-banning lunatic realize the absurdity of their assertion. Beyond that, not so much. Of course, normal people understand that concept. It would appear the effort was wasted on you.

[voidmaster-2009]

I am not condoning what the kid did or what his mother did. I think psychiatric care is in order for him. I''m not sure his mother should be so lucky.

That said, my point is that bullying is not a right. Yet when some kid(s) goes off and starts shooting, they typical response is usually something along the lines of , "He did this just because he was being picked on." It implies that his being picked on was just something he should have just sucked up and put up with.

A child who is a bully is usually acting out based upon some dysfunctional aspect of his home life.

[omded]

No, just watching from afar. Very interesting. Human behavior. A lot like insects and animals I''d say. The fly flies into the trap to drink it''s nector. The trap closes on the unsuspecting fly. So who''s really the hunter and who''s really the hunted? Life is never as it seems, my friend. Tell me, do you have something against fat people? Why? When you "stood up" to your bullies, am I right to presume that you fought them off? I applaud you good sir! But maybe this young man needed a little more than the power of his own fists. Very interesting indeed. A lot like all those "done me wrong" movies from back in the 1980''s. It would have been very interesting to see how this worked itself out if the young man had used his guns.

[mjm117]

Posted by VoidMaster at 06:54 PM : Sep 23, 2008


I''m just tired of all the excuses sent the way of the shooters, or would be shooters in this case. Yes, the bully''s are WRONG. I get that. But that does not give the "fat boy" any right to spray bullets and kill the bully''s and innocents.

And his MOM???? I say, make her sit locked up in front of a ever rotating table of fried chicken just out of her reach until she dies of starvation.

I''m outta here.

[mjm117]

Posted by omded at 06:55 PM : Sep 23, 2008

I don''t have anything against fat people actually. I''m a bit overweight myself. I was just making light of it all.

I did clock one of them and got a few punches thrown back at me. Got chased in a car on a daily basis for 2 weeks. But, never ONCE did the thought of shooting these kids come to mind. Guess what? I ran into the "head bully" about 10 years later and he apologized to me. Funny how life works.

Now really, I''m outta here

[voidmaster-2009]

And his MOM???? I say, make her sit locked up in front of a ever rotating table of fried chicken just out of her reach until she dies of starvation.

Posted by mjm117
***
Yeah, that would fix it.

[omded]

Very interesting. I''m happy your situation worked out so well. Some do. Some don''t. That''s life. The power to forgive and forget the past. Another very interesting aspect of human ability. Probably unlike the insects and animals. I find it very moving. Good for you fine sir!

[voidmaster-2009]

The notion of standing up to bullies always seems so enticing. Yet most public school systems now have a "zero tolerance for violence" policy in place. So even if a kid is defending himself, he gets punished right along with the bully. So how else is the victim to respond?

Is he just supposed to put up with it until graduation? Yeah, that''ll turn him into a stable, level-headed citizen. So what is he supposed to do?

If he goes to the "authorities" and complains, they may or may not do anything about it. For example, where I live, high school football is almost a religion unto itself. And the typical bully, should he happen to be a high school football jock, is pretty much given free license to do as he pleases. After all -- boys will be boys.

So for how long is the typically immature adolescent supposed to put up with such an intolerable existence before he acts out in a manner that is intended to be as repugnant to society as is society''s tolerance of the abuses against him? I guarantee you, in a similar situation, I would have started shooting a LONG time before graduation.

[voidmaster-2009]

The biggest problem, elfelon, is that the bullies in most cases are themselves the victims. More often than not, it is the parents of bullies who ought to be charged with a crime. That crime, leading to the raising of a bully can be summed up by the term "child abuse."

[voidmaster-2009]

I should not say that he bullies are "the victims," but rather that they are themselves victims as well.

[voidmaster-2009]

Good. Now that we''ve got that cleared up....

[hazelknows]

just another right wing hockey mom.....

[mjm117]

Bullies should be murdered.


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Posted by elfelon at 07:13 PM : Sep 23, 2008


Aww...poor little elfelon got picked on and holds a grudge!

[mjm117]

Listen. If you are picked on, do something rational about it.

If you are the parent of a kid being picked on, help your kid out. Get help within the school if it''s available - DON''T BUY YOUR KID A GUN. Teach them patience and real values. And maybe find out what the kid is being picked on about and help them fix it! If they are overweight...then you should help them eat healthy...


If you are a bully, be prepared to watch the kids you pick on surpass you in life...it happens more then not.

[mjm117]

This mom is no better then the bully''s themselves. She enabled her son to be picked on, then enabled her son to create violent thoughts...and so did the bully''s.

Parents - if your child if fat, put them on a diet. It will help them out in more ways then one

[voidmaster-2009]

Choosing to be fat is not a good choice. But it is the right of anyone so inclined. Choosing to be a bully is not a right. Being a bully is a crime. Being fat is not.

[owlwomanxxxx]

It is up to the parents of these bullies to teach ther kids RESPECT for others...then maybe there would not be so many of these school shootings going on...We do not tolerate it in the working world so why in our schools.......

[random_radar]

What defines a bully? What creates a bully? There are many issues about human interaction that are hard to understand.

But if you are making someone angry enough to kill you, you might want to reconsider what you are doing no matter what it is.

[voidmaster-2009]

Bullies are prone to challenge their victims to fight back, often inferring if not not outright saying that they (the victims) are cowards if they do not. Yet most of the time, were the victims to fight back, it is the bully who would back down.

Bullies, you will notice, are very aware that their actions are wrong. That is why they do their bullying beyond the view of authorities. In this way, the bullies confess their own cowardice.

Finally, many parents will not take up for their own children when they are picked on by a bully. They want their kids to learn to fight back and some will will even punish a child should he dare complain of being bullied at school.

Yet no child should have to learn violence as a part of life.

[omded]

If someone''s fat, who cares? There''s no good reason to hassel someone simply because they''re overweight. It sounds like some people just need an excuse to hassle others. I guess that''s life. On the other hand, the hasseled sometimes need a little recourse of their own. I guess that''s life too. If you choose to use your life to harrass others, then perhaps you will lose your life. I guess that''s life. Very interesting. But it''s even more interesting that anyone actually cares about what happens to the bullies. After all, they brought it all upon themselves. Did the overweight boy ask to be harrassed? If not, then I''d say the bullies chose to reach into a hot furnace. The smell of burning flesh is somewhat unappealing. But it''s what you get when you touch something that''s very hot. I guess they don''t believe the surface is hot. Well, now they know. Very interesting.

[mjm117]

Choosing to be fat is not a good choice. But it is the right of anyone so inclined. Choosing to be a bully is not a right. Being a bully is a crime. Being fat is not.


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Posted by VoidMaster at 07:51 PM : Sep 23, 2008


Is it the right of parents to feed their kids *** FOOD and make them obese? I find it apauling when parents do that

[voidmaster-2009]

Usually it is the parent of the bully that is the cause of his being a bully. It normally stems from the parent pushing the kid into something the kid does not want to do. In some extreme cases, an overly aggressive parent will insist that his child express that same over-aggressiveness.

Many in American society treat competitiveness and aggression as essential life-skills. They are not and in fact, only because they are perpetuated are they even viewable as "necessary."

[voidmaster-2009]

Is it the right of parents to feed their kids *** FOOD and make them obese? I find it apauling when parents do that

Posted by mjm117
***
So do I. But the kid is not at fault and should not be subjected to bullying because of it. Still, even if the kid DOES choose to be fat... that choice is his right. It is still not the right of another to bully him.

Prosecute the mother for child abuse if you can prove she knowingly stuffed the boy''s face with too much unhealthy food. But do not fault the child for the wrong actions of others.