Autistic teen recovering after mother tried to kill her, Mich. report says
(CBS/AP) BEULAH, Mich. - The father of an autistic 14-year-old northern Michigan girl whose mother is charged with trying to kill her says his daughter's condition has improved in recent days.
A posting on Matt Stapleton's Facebook page says his daughter Isabelle is breathing on her own, walking, talking, and out of the critical care unit at a Grand Rapids hospital after doctors decided Friday to remove her from a ventilator.
Kelli Stapleton was charged last week with attempted murder in what police describe as a murder-suicide plan. State police say Stapleton and her daughter were found unconscious from carbon monoxide poisoning in a van Tuesday.
According to CBS affiliate WWMT, the mother lit up two charcoal grills inside the van.
The Stapletons live in Elberta, west of Traverse City. Kelli Stapleton has written about Isabelle's severe autism on a blog called The Status Woe.
The girl reportedly suffers from a rare form of autism that triggers extreme violence.
