A tragic event unfolded recently in Pasco County, Florida. A teacher named Justine Mroz was overcome by rage and stress and decided to choke her 6-year-old autistic son to death. She has now been arrested as the greater community in that area mourns together.
There is never a reason to kill a child. Recently, there was another case where a teen father allegedly killed his baby out of fear of raising a child at such a young age — and he is now set to face justice in his own case. However, with Mroz, she had already taken up the responsibility of raising her son, but things grew more complicated when he was diagnosed with autism early on.
Autism is a global challenge that humanity continues to contend with — regardless of whether Tylenol is part of the equation or not. It’s important to raise awareness of just how difficult it can be to care for a child diagnosed with autism. For Mroz, she had to deal with a child who would begin harming himself without any clear explanation.
On Oct. 19, it was one of those mornings in the Mroz household. Her son was watching TV when he suddenly started banging his head on the floor and generally harming himself. When Justine tried to stop him — he hit her. According to Cafe Mom, Mroz told police that the incident made her “snap.”
At that point, Mroz decided to choke her son until he was lifeless. Her next step was to text her family to say she was sorry, without giving them any explanation as to what she had just done, before going to the bathroom to retrieve razor blades and cut her wrists. At 9:50 a.m., she called the Pasco Sheriff’s Office via 911 and told the dispatcher everything that had happened.
Mroz was once a respected member of the community and worked with children as a teacher at West Pasco Education Academy, prompting the district to release a statement. It read in part, “Pasco County Schools can confirm that Justine Mroz is employed by Pasco County Schools. She has been arrested by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and will not be on any school campus. On behalf of the entire Pasco County Schools family, we extend our deepest condolences to all who are grieving. We are deploying crisis teams to provide care and support to those affected by this heartbreaking event.”
Cases of parents killing their children are sadly not as rare as they should be. This one is particularly tragic because, while her motive is not justified, the fact that what pushed her over the edge was an illness so many families struggle with makes it all the more harrowing.
Mroz is set to appear for a pre-trial on Oct. 27, where prosecutors are expected to provide more clarity on how they plan to pursue the case. There are many people affected by this tragedy. A community has been forever changed — and hopefully, they’ll find a way to rebuild toward some form of new normalcy soon.
