The board also concluded she did not intend this child's death, and while extremely reckless and dangerous, she was following the advice of so-called experts in meting out punishment. – Utah Board of Pardons and Parole spokesman Jim Hatch
SPRINGVILLE — Almost six years to the day that Jennete Killpack was sent to prison for killing her daughter by forcing the 4-year-old girl to drink a gallon of water, the woman was released from custody.
Utah State Prison spokesman Steve Gehrke said she left the prison around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
"She didn't have any write-ups in her time here," he said of Killpack's stay. "She pretty much followed the rules and did what she was supposed to do."
Killpack, who was convicted by a jury of child abuse homicide, was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison on Jan. 6, 2006, in connection with the 2002 death of Cassandra Killpack.
She appeared before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole last year and spokesman Jim Hatch said the board "struggled a great deal" with how much time Killpack should serve.
"Her sentencing guideline suggested she should serve four years, and ultimately the board decided to have her serve six years," he said.
Hatch said that while the board considered the death "tragic," they did not feel it indicated that Killpack was a danger to the community.
"The board also concluded she did not intend this child's death, and while extremely reckless and dangerous, she was following the advice of so-called experts in meting out punishment," Hatch said. "She has no prior criminal history and was a model inmate who showed great remorse."
He said Killpack had the support of the community and prison officials also recommended her release. He also spoke of the woman's other children who "suffered a great deal" in her absence and who remained in her custody for more than three years after Cassandra's death without any harm or incident.
Brightly colored balloons lined the pathway to her Springville home and a handmade banner proclaimed "Welcome Home Mom." Yellow crepe paper adorned a tree in the front yard and posts on the family's white gate.
A teenage girl who answered the door at the home simply shook her head in the negative when asked if anyone in the family wanted to talk.
Gehrke said Killpack will be on probation for three years, during which time she will be checked on by a parole officer and subject to various restrictions.
"They want to make sure they have some time to supervise her as she emerges back out in the community to make sure that she's still succeeding and on a better path and that they aren't going to have any issues," he said. "If she completes that time successfully, then she'll be as free as you and I."
Prosecutors said Killpack put her daughter, Cassandra, on a bar stool the night of June 9, 2002, tied the girl's hands behind her back and forced her to drink about a gallon of water as punishment for taking a sibling's drink.
Cassandra was vomiting and choking and her temperature had dropped to 90 degrees by the time paramedics arrived. The punishment led to the girl's death by water intoxication — a condition that causes the brain to swell and the body's sodium level to drop to a fatal level, prosecutors said.
Killpack and her husband, Rick, adopted 21-month-old Cassandra in July 1999. She soon developed behavioral problems, including refusing to eat, hoarding food and urinating at inappropriate times. The Killpacks consulted a psychologist who diagnosed Cassandra with Reactive Attachment Disorder. Another specialist confirmed the diagnosis and recommended the Killpacks implement treatment ideas from a book that suggests parents could cure a child's misbehavior by having the child repeat a particular misbehavior "in excess."
Killpack and her husband said on ABC's "Good Morning America" and NBC's "Today" shows in 2002 that they were instructed by a therapist at the now-defunct Cascade Center for Family Growth.
At a parole hearing last year, Killpack said she was in a “power struggle” with the child and that the punishment was part of a recommended therapy to discipline her daughter by making her repeat any misbehavior in excess.
“I was getting very frustrated that she was not complying with what I asked her to do,” she said. “I had been told many times it was vitally important that I not lose a power struggle because then I would set back everything I had been trying to do.”
Killpack said she lost emotional control.
“Honestly, I was cold,” she said. “I was in not a very good mental state toward her.”
She enlisted her husband's help in forcing the girl to drink the water, leading to child abuse homicide and neglect charges against the pair. Richard Killpack was ultimately acquitted.
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