A Wisconsin woman initially accused of trying to kill her teenage son has pleaded no contest to a reduced charge, closing out a case that began with far more serious allegations.
Heather O’Neill, 56, entered no-contest pleas to two felony counts of child neglect on July 31, roughly three years after prosecutors charged her with first-degree intentional attempted homicide and first-degree recklessly endangering safety. A criminal complaint obtained by Merrill Foto News states that O’Neill called 911 on the evening of June 20, 2023, telling dispatchers, “I just gave my son and myself an overdose.”
She reportedly told the 911 operator that she had given her 16-year-old son, who has autism, a mix of “Trazodone, sleeping aids, and sedatives.” Later, speaking with a sheriff’s deputy, O’Neill said, “I’m tired of living like this,” and “I’m done,” adding that her son had been prone to “violent tantrums.”
Investigators said O’Neill left behind a suicide note at the Merrill, Wisconsin, home she shared with her son. Part of the note read, “I can no longer remember why I even wanted a child.” She went on to write of her son, “He has been such a miserable burden to me and will continue to be so. Never will this end. Never will I be able to live the happy peaceful life that I have needed.”
Once at the hospital, O’Neill reportedly told police, “I’ve snapped, this is 16 years of his violent tantrums. I can’t take it anymore, he beats me up. I wanted it to be over for both of us.”
Her son survived the overdose, though he needed to be intubated after suffering a seizure at the hospital. According to the Wausau Pilot & Review, the teen was present in the courtroom on July 31 when his mother both entered her plea and was sentenced. He chose not to address the court.
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O’Neill received a sentence of nine and a half years of probation. A separate seven-and-a-half-year prison term was handed down but stayed. As part of her sentence, she was barred from contacting her son and ordered to write him a letter of apology — court records show that letter was submitted on Aug. 7.
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