Tulsa mother arrested for attempting to kill herself and her son

A haunting case of child abuse. A 7-year-old boy is in a Tulsa hospital, in a near coma because someone tried to poison him, drown him and electrocute him. <br/><br/>News on 6 anchor Lori Fullbright

Monday, November 8th 2004, 10:12 am

By: News On 6

A haunting case of child abuse. A 7-year-old boy is in a Tulsa hospital, in a near coma because someone tried to poison him, drown him and electrocute him.

News on 6 anchor Lori Fullbright says a house in the 2000 block of North Quincy became a torture chamber for Joseph Alexander.

Joseph's dad Frederick recently broke up with his mom, Maya[pictured]. Left her for another woman. Tulsa Police say that caused Maya to snap, first, she broke out the windows at Frederick's workplace, then decided to kill her and their son.

Frederick says the first time he broke up with Maya, she slit her wrists, but this time, she called him at work and said she was going to destroy something precious to him.

He and his co-workers raced home, found a murder-suicide note on the front porch, kicked in the door and found them in the tub. He says mother and child were both in the water, fully dressed, she had the boy's head under and there was a radio plugged in and dangling in the water with them.

Frederick yanked out the radio, pulled out the boy and after a check at the hospital, took him home. Tulsa Police arrested Maya for attempted murder.

Frederick says Joseph is usually a livewire. "He's outgoing and fun and full of life and likes to talk, a chatterbox.â€ But Joseph is none of those things now, because they had to rush him back to the hospital when he wouldn't wake up.

Tulsa Police say the boy had also been fed antifreeze and it's poisoning his system, especially his brain and kidneys. Tulsa Police child crisis unit Sgt Whitney Allen: "This is a horrible case. Fortunately, when we have murder-suicides, it doesn't usually involve children."

Police say Maya Alexander confessed to them when they arrested her. When detectives went to the jail Monday to ask her more questions, they were told she's also in the hospital, in critical condition. They believe she probably drank some of the antifreeze as well.

The family's main concern right now is getting Joseph better, but they are also worried about the medical bills, so they're opening a trust fund in his name.