Mother Pleads Guilty To Attempted Murder Of Daughter

WORCESTER, MA — A Charlton mother pleaded guilty to attempted murder on Monday at the Worcester Superior Court after stuffing her car's tailpipe with clothing and letting it run with herself and her 3-year-old daughter inside, according to a report. Leeann Rickheit, 40, also pleaded guilty to child endangerment.

On Aug. 9, 2017, an Amber Alert was issued after Rickheit texted her mother suicidal messages to her mother before leaving with her daughter, a MassLive report says.

The next day, Massachusetts State Police troopers found her car in the woods in Charlton running with clothing stuffed in the tailpipe. Both Rickheit and her daughter were in the car. She had researched death by carbon monoxide, authorities said.

There was a suicide note in the car. A window was cracked and Rickheit said she believed leaving the window cracked would save her daughter, the MassLive report says.

The trooper smashed a window in order to save the two.

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Rickheit will serve 2 and a half years in prison followed by three years of probation. She'll also undergo substance abuse and mental health evaluations and have to abide by Department of Children and Families orders, MassLive reported.

See more on Patch: Missing Worcester 3-Year-Old, Mom Found Alive

Photo credit: via Massachusetts State Police