INCLUSION DAILY EXPRESS -- Mine An Ener

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Mine An Ener
Mom Kills Infant Daughter With Down Syndrome, Then Kills Self

On August 4, 2003, Villanova University history professor Dr. Mine Ener used a 12-inch kitchen knife to slice the throat of her 6-month-old daughter, Raya Donagi, who had Down syndrome. Police said Ener told them she "did not want the child to go through life suffering", that she was afraid the child might have to use a feeding tube. On August 30, Ener's body was discovered in a jail day room. She had apparently smothered herself to death with a plastic trash bag.

2005
February 2: University Removes Memorial To Professor Who Killed Infant Daughter
2003
September 3: Mine Ener Dies In Jail Of Apparent Suicide
August 7: Mom Confesses To Killing Infant Daughter

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Mine Ener Dies In Jail Of Apparent Suicide
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
September 3, 2003

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA--The Philadelphia professor who admitted murdering her infant daughter last month died Saturday of an apparent suicide outside her jail cell.

Mine Ener, 38, appeared to be sleeping on a mattress in a Ramsey County Jail day-room Saturday afternoon with a blanket pulled up over her head. Deputies checked under the blanket at 3:45 p.m. and found that she had a plastic trash bag over her head and was unconscious.

Deputies and paramedics were unable to revive Ener. She was pronounced dead an hour later at nearby Regions Hospital.

"It's unusual to be able to suffocate in this fashion," Sheriff Bob Fletcher said. "We're investigating it, at this point, as a suicide, but we're also interviewing other inmates that were in this day-room area."

Ener had told police that she was considering suicide and was on medication for postpartum depression after she was arrested August 4 for second-degree murder. The Villanova University history professor admitted using a 12-inch kitchen knife to slice the throat of her daughter, 6-month-old Raya Donagi, who had Down syndrome. Police said Ener told them she "did not want the child to go through life suffering" and added that her family was not as pessimistic about her daughter's potential quality of life as she was.

Ener also told police she was having difficulty feeding the child and feared that she would have to use a feeding tube.

"Our hearts go out to the family for enduring another loss," Sheriff Fletcher said. "It's another tragedy on top of another tragic situation."

Related article:
"Jailed mom kills self" (Pioneer Press)
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/6659781.htm

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Mom Confesses To Killing Infant Daughter
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
August 7, 2003

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA--Monday morning, Mine An Ener was in the middle of her usual routine, feeding her 6-month-old daughter in her parent's family room, when she decided to kill the infant.

According to a statement Ener gave to St. Paul police, she picked up baby Raya, walked to the kitchen to get a 12-inch kitchen knife, then went into the bathroom where she sliced the girl's throat -- twice.

Ener said she killed her daughter because she "did not want the child to go through life suffering."

Raya Donagi had Down syndrome. During her short life she had relied much of the time on a feeding tube.

Ener appeared in court Wednesday, charged with second-degree murder. If convicted, she could receive up to 40 years in prison. The judge scheduled her arraignment for August 27 and set her bail at $500,000. She was being held in the county jail on suicide watch.

Ener is a history professor specializing in Middle East studies at Villanova University outside Philadelphia. According to media reports, she had been experiencing post-partum depression in recent months and talked about committing suicide and about hurting her child.

St. Paul police Sgt. Bruce Wynkoop told the Pioneer Press that Ener was surrounded by a loving husband and family who wanted to help her.

"She had alternatives," Wynkoop said.

As has been the case with many high-profile murders of children with disabilities at the hands of their parents, the media and others are focusing on what they call the "parent's suffering".

"Here is a woman who has worked very hard in her career and was very successful. And she probably expected to be just as successful in childbearing and childrearing," said Dr. Shari Lusskin, director of reproductive psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. "And to have a child that is handicapped, it must have been devastating to her."

Many disability groups point out that people with Down syndrome can live satisfying lives -- often living as long as the general population. Many parents of children with Down syndrome have responded that, while there are challenges, the rewards are immeasurable.

Related articles:
Mom charged with killing baby (Pioneer Press)
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/6466369.htm
"Villanova professor is silent in court" (Philadelphia Inquirer)
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/6474836.htm
"Missing the up side of Down" (Pioneer Press)
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/6474281.htm

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