Kelly Silk (née Mullen) was a woman suffering from postpartum depression until she snapped on June 10, 1999, killing her husband, two of her children and herself. Her daughter and 2-month old son survived.
When Kelly was 7 years old, she found her mother dead in the bathtub, after having committed suicide. Her father never remarried and raised Kelly, Kimberly and William as a single father. Ironically, her grandfather was an assistant fire chief for 42 years.
Kelly Mullen met Charles Silk, a devout Baptist, at a singles meeting and married in a civil ceremony in December 1995. Kelly Silk had a daughter, Jessica, from a previous relationship.
The couple had three children, Jennifer, Jonah and Joshua. She homeschooled Jessica while caring for children. The Silks believed in corporal punishment, to the point where they used a paddle that had the words "Rod of Correction" written on it. Clubs with biblical passages were also found by the police. Neighbors noticed that the children had bruises and marks on their bodies. The Department of Child and Youth Services paid a visit, but they left after talking to Kelly without further inquiry about the children. The DCYS closed the case.
Jessica noticed that her mother was experiencing depression with each birth of her half-siblings. With every child, her postpartum depression got worse. In a lot of cases of postpartum depression, Kelly may have resented her children and maybe even Charles.
By 1998, she was taking the antidepressant Prozac, which she suffered an overdose on that year.
She didn't seek medical help beyond Prozac. As a born-again Christian, she sought spiritual guidance. She reached out to the pastor of Truth Baptist Church in South Windsor. The pastor told her that she didn't need to take medication, but to pray more. But her depression worsened.
Kelly felt like a failure and a bad mother who didn't deserve to live, similar to Andrea Yates two years later.
Kelly constantly thought about her mother's suicide and obsessively talking about it with her friends. She asked why her mother committed suicide and may have blamed herself for it. She eventually questioned why Marilyn didn't take Kelly with her.
On June 10, 1999, 2 month old Joshua was covered in bruises. This threw Kelly Silk over the edge. She screamed at the infant to shut up and tried to throttle him. After this, she grabbed a knife from the kitchen and started stabbing her sleeping husband. Charles managed to get up and make it to the door but Kelly continued stabbing him to death. Jessica was awoken by her step-father's screams and witnessed his death.
Kelly then came after Jessica and non-fatally stabbed her 61 times. Kelly then got a gasoline can and poured the gasoline on herself and Jessica before setting herself ablaze, along with the house. Jessica, bleeding and her hair on fire, ran out of the house and into the lawn of a neighbor who put out the fire and called 911.
Kelly, Charles, Jennifer and Jonah died in the fire, while Jessica and Joshua survived.
Notes[]
Kelly Silks is portrayed by the actress as the one who portrayed Susan Wright.