|
 Jillian McCabe, 36, pleaded guilty in Lincoln County Circuit Court
on Monday to murdering her son London, District Attorney Michelle
Branam said in a statement.
McCabe "was very calculated" in planning the homicide weeks in
advance, Branam said, leaving behind a trail online and in phone
records that showed she had researched legal defenses based upon
findings of insanity and also appeared to fake mental illness and
manipulate doctors.
"Based on the searches on her phone, you could surmise Jillian
planned to murder London by throwing him off the bridge and to get
committed to the State hospital," Branam said.
She added that, at one point, McCabe searched online: "Can you die
falling 133 ft in water?"
 Authorities say McCabe called police on Nov. 3, 2014, to report that
she had thrown her son from the Yaquina Bay Bridge in Newport, a
town of some 10,000 about 115 miles southwest of Portland.
Branam said an autopsy found the fall did not kill London. He
suffered broken bones after the impact and ultimately drowned.
The U.S. Coast Guard sent two boats and a helicopter to help search
for London before his body was spotted in the water near the
Embarcadero Resort, about a mile from the bridge, by a diner about
four hours after she reported the incident, police said.
A website previously set up by McCabe to seek financial aid,
helpmatt.org, described her family as facing financial challenges
after a brain injury landed her husband, Matt, in hospital for four
months last year and left him unemployed upon his release.
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"With London's autism, the financial and emotional load of Matt not
being there for month after month is more than most of us can
understand," she wrote on the website.
McCabe's admission of guilt followed a plea deal under which
prosecutors agreed to drop additional charges of aggravated murder
and manslaughter, the Oregonian newspaper reported.
McCabe, who received a life sentence in prison, can seek parole
after serving 25 years, Branam's office said.
She was previously scheduled to face trial in August.
An attorney for McCabe could not immediately be reached.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by James Dalgleish
and Andrew Hay)
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