Megan Parnell is the mother and murderer of severely disabled child Ian Parnell. Megan withheld Ian’s seizure medication in hopes he’d die in mercy. In her grief, she set a fire to kill herself, but because she had a daughter, Katie, she instead ran out of her burning home. Ian was still alive and died from smoke inhalation.
Her defense argued an insanity plea, which was so successful even prosecutors were supporting the just verdict when Megan testified to her plea on the stand, and the evidence backed her accounts. She received the verdict accordingly and was institutionalized. (L&O: “Endurance”)