A Michigan mother told police she killed her son just days before his 18th birthday because he didn’t want to reach adulthood, according to court records.
Katie Austin Lee, 39, was arraigned on Monday, Feb. 24, on an open-murder charge for the death of her son, Austin Dean Pikaart, at their apartment in Holland.
Holland District Judge Bradley Knoll ordered her to be held without bond following a hearing that took place remotely from the Ottawa County Jail. Police responded to a distress call at Bay Pointe Apartments around 4:15 a.m. Friday. According to Detective Sgt. Brent Sluiter, Lee herself made the 911 call, telling dispatchers she couldn’t get her son to “stop breathing.” She claimed he had been asking for her help to end his life because he didn’t want to turn 18.
Lee told the dispatcher that she used a knife to cut her son after he passed out. Police later noted that he had a cut to his throat and two more wounds on his arm.
She also revealed that they had both attempted to overdose on medication earlier that afternoon around 1 p.m. on Thursday. When that didn’t work, she said, she cut him after he lost consciousness around 6 p.m.
When officers arrived, they found Lee holding a large kitchen knife near her shoulder, threatening them. Police reported that her clothing and the knife were covered in blood.
Despite repeated commands, she refused to drop the weapon. A sergeant attempted to use a Taser, but it didn’t work. Moments later, she threw the knife into the hallway but then lunged for it again before officers finally subdued her with a Taser.
“Upon being taken into custody, Lee stated that officers were supposed to kill her – supposed to kill her, so that she could be with her son,” Sluiter told the judge.
Inside the apartment, police discovered Pikaart lying on his back in a pool of blood. Dr. Stephen Cohle, a forensic pathologist, later confirmed that he died from a deep cut to his neck.
During her arraignment, Lee wept as she appeared remotely from jail. The judge noted that she had refused to speak with a Public Defender or a bond screener before the hearing.
When asked if she wanted legal representation, she hesitated before saying, “I think so. Yes. Yes.”
Lee told the judge she had lived in the apartment complex for about a decade. She also stated that she was disabled and did not work. The case remains under investigation.