Family says a weekend stabbing death of a young Tulsa boy could have been avoided

A Tulsa family wants their personal tragedy to shine a light on problems with serving the city's mentally ill. <br/><br/>Tulsa Police say Patrick Shea was stabbed to death by his mother, Sheilla Shea,

Monday, July 4th 2005, 6:20 am

By: News On 6

A Tulsa family wants their personal tragedy to shine a light on problems with serving the city's mentally ill.

Tulsa Police say Patrick Shea was stabbed to death by his mother, Sheilla Shea, Saturday morning, but relatives say the tragedy could have been avoided.

The Shea family says Sheilla Shea was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Martha Quinton says her family tried to get Sheilla help in the days before Patrick was killed. Quinton says Sheilla was hospitalized last summer for almost three weeks. And they thought she was doing better, until about one month ago.

They say Sheilla was convinced someone was trying to kill her and her children. Quinton says she reported Sheilla's behavior to two different agencies, but she says no one took any action. Martha Quinton: "Sheilla the mother of six kids would have never have done this if she'd gotten the help that she needed, the help that we called and asked for."

Now Martha Quinton and her family are planning a funeral for 6 year-old Patrick, the little boy with the contagious grin who loved to ride his bike and watch cartoons.