Charges expected against mother in death of South St. Paul boy

Answers may come in the killing of a South St. Paul boy that has left a family baffled.

By ABBY SIMONS, Star Tribune

Last update: July 10, 2009 - 10:09 AM

For several days, South St. Paul police have said single mother Patricia Ann Becht is the only suspect in the death of her 10-year-old autistic son, and the unspecified injuries inflicted upon her 11-year-old daughter and herself.

But police have given no clue as to how and why she might have snapped in their home Monday, doing unspeakable -- and to her own family members unbelievable -- things to the children they say she's always loved.

More of those answers are expected to come this morning, with what Dakota County authorities say will be a criminal complaint charging Becht, 42, with first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder.

Becht, 42, was released from United Hospital in St. Paul on Thursday and into the hands of authorities who booked her into the Dakota County jail, said South St. Paul Police Chief Daniel Vujovich.

Jail officials said Becht was booked pending charges of first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder -- charges that would send her to prison for life if she's convicted.

Chief Deputy Dakota County Attorney Philip Prokopowicz said Becht will appear in court at 10 a.m. He declined to comment further about the case.

Charges are expected to shed light on how and why Patricia Becht killed her only son and harmed her youngest daughter, at the end of a week during which South St. Paul police have remained mum about how Michael Vonheath Becht Jr. died. Authorities have said only that he was found dead in the duplex he shared with his mother and two sisters after emergency responders were called to the home at 716 1st Av. about 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Patricia Becht and her 11-year-old daughter Erica Becht were found in medical distress in the home. Patricia Becht, who was conscious and breathing, was taken to United Hospital. Erica Becht, who was unconscious but breathing, was taken to Children's Hospital in St. Paul. Police said she is expected to survive. A 16-year-old daughter, Cara Freeman, was not home at the time of the incident. A deputy medical examiner said Thursday said that the cause of the boy's death had yet to officially be determined.

Family members say Patricia Becht, a single mother, struggled at times with depression.

"All I can tell you is that Patti was a wonderful mother," Becht's mother, Jan Burnett, said Thursday. "She took care of her kids, she loved them, she put them above everybody. She's helped other people when she could and has had depression problems, but I don't believe that if she did this she was conscious of what she was doing."

Burnett said the family has not been kept apprised of what exactly happened inside the duplex on Monday. Police say no weapon was used but that evidence found in the home led them to Patricia Becht as a suspect.

Erica Becht remains in the hospital, her grandmother said, and is doing "as well as can be expected." Burnett said her family is dealing with grief along with bewilderment.

"She would never hurt one of her children, and that's all I want people to know," Burnett said. "She's a good person. She's not the monster they make her out to be."

Twice married to and divorced from the father of Michael and Erica Becht, Patricia Becht described herself on her Facebook page as the mother of "three great kids" and a "free spirit" who doesn't believe in marriage.

Neighbors described Michael Jr., known in the neighborhood and at school as Mikey, as a quiet but friendly boy who had good days and bad with his autism.

Abby Simons • 612-673-4921

Recent Local + Metro stories

Dateline Minneapolis: Inefficiency marks USDA lunch program - July 10, 2009

Dateline Minneapolis: Inefficiency marks USDA lunch program - A graduate of Minneapolis South High who's doing her doctoral thesis on school lunch programs in Minnesota says waste is widespread -- and costly -- in the federal food giveaways. More