Woman sentenced to 45 years for killing mother with fire extinguisher

A St. Joseph County judge accepted a woman's plea of guilty but mentally ill in the death of her 85-year-old mother.

“There was obviously a history of underlying mental issues...so reaching a guilty but mentally ill resolution of the case is an assessment that yes at the time, the person was able to appreciate the wrongfulness of their conduct, but not disregarding that mental illness undoubtedly played a part in their conduct," said St. Joseph County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Christopher Fronk.

Annette Beedle was charged in March 2017 with the death of 85-year-old Mary Claypool.

On March 7, Beedle called 9-1-1 and said, "I just tried to kill my mom. I beat her with a fire extinguisher."

Claypool died on March 9.

In court, two of Beedle's sisters spoke. One said the situation has been a roller coaster.

The other asked, "How do you kill someone who gave you life?"

“She’s still my sister, and I want to say that I love her, but right now, I’ve got so many, I don’t know. Mary wants to believe that it was compassion, but I still have to believe there was some anger there, because compassion, you don’t beat your mom with a fire extinguisher," said Beedle's sister, Teena Abbiehl.

Abbiehl and her sister said Annette has suffered from bipolar disorder since the mid-80's and tried to commit suicide multiple times this year.

Beedle's lawyer said she killed her mother to end her suffering.

Beedle was sentenced to the minimum of 45-years in prison.

Note: The video incorrectly identifies Teena Abbiehl as Teena Abbiehr. We have corrected the spelling in the text of this web story.