[Tink]

Traci, my niece is finally out of group homes and living semi-independently. She was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and severe epilepsy. She's always had problems, and very poor parenting from my sister and her string of different husbands, so she's never really had a great chance for a normal life. DH #2 molested the girl when she was 12, so my sister sent her off to foster care and kept the husband for a couple more years.

When she shot her brother, it was intentional. Since she's got "issues" it's impossible to know if she actually realized the long term consequences or not. She was only 8 then and is now 26 and just learning to live on her own... so who's to judge? I'd always made sure to keep her away from my kids because I didn't trust her. Once they grew up, both my girls decided they wanted to get to know her for themselves and both came away with a better understanding of my thinking. It's sad to be that way about family, but she's killed her brother, was caught molesting younger kids, and I wasn't taking any chances.