Mother Charged With Child's Death Speaks From Taylor Co. Jail
By: Marlisa Goldsmith
Updated: October 19, 2012
"I have three little girls. Three years old, almost two, and six months, and I have them all by myself, all the time," says Tiffany Klapheke.
Klapheke's husband, Thomas Klapheke, is currently deployed oversees in Oman, which his 22-year-old wife says takes a huge toll on her.
"I'm so just stressed out and depressed all the time and i just need help taking care of them and i don't have any help. I don't have any family around or anything," says Klapheke.
She says it got so bad she tried to take her own life.
"I tried attempting suicide three weeks ago and my friends came in and stopped me."
Last Friday Klapheke says her 22-month old daughter started taking off her diaper around the house, and Klapheke got tired of it, so she let her daughter stay in the crib... in her own urine.
"It was wet and she was laying in the wet spot for like a week"
Klapheke says Tuesday morning she woke up to the realization that she would have to suck up her frustration and take care of her children, but what she found when she walked in the room left her in disbelief.
"When I went to get her, she was not alive," says Klapheke.
So now, Klapheke sits in the Taylor County Jail, with no choice but to think about the life she let end far too soon.
"I made a horrible, horrible mistake that I'm going to pay for for the rest of my life," she says.
Klapheke's husband, Thomas Klapheke, is currently deployed oversees in Oman, which his 22-year-old wife says takes a huge toll on her.
"I'm so just stressed out and depressed all the time and i just need help taking care of them and i don't have any help. I don't have any family around or anything," says Klapheke.
She says it got so bad she tried to take her own life.
"I tried attempting suicide three weeks ago and my friends came in and stopped me."
Last Friday Klapheke says her 22-month old daughter started taking off her diaper around the house, and Klapheke got tired of it, so she let her daughter stay in the crib... in her own urine.
"It was wet and she was laying in the wet spot for like a week"
Klapheke says Tuesday morning she woke up to the realization that she would have to suck up her frustration and take care of her children, but what she found when she walked in the room left her in disbelief.
"When I went to get her, she was not alive," says Klapheke.
So now, Klapheke sits in the Taylor County Jail, with no choice but to think about the life she let end far too soon.
"I made a horrible, horrible mistake that I'm going to pay for for the rest of my life," she says.
Comments
Before girls have children married or not they should consider that they are not dolls which can be put upon a shelf and taken down only when she feels like playing dress up with them. There is no excuse for the death of the child. You were smart enough to realize that there was something wrong with you, and evidently so were your friends. All you had to do was reach out and get help, you didn't have to reach far. I find it hard to believe that your friends stopped you, but that was it. I don't blame them for what you did, however common sense would have dictated that you needed help and if you couldn't or wouldn't get it yourself, if for no other reason than the safety of your children, they should have done something. I have four kids and my husband works 30 and 30, and he is usually in another country, and all four of my kids are still alive, one is a senior at UT. The adults in your children's lives have failed them miserabley!
Debrah D.
October 20, 2012 at 8:03 pm
Personal responsibility is something that apparently means very little to people these days........If you are a parent needing a babysitter for yourself so you don't do something sick like neglect your own children, then you shouldn't have children and you shouldn't be living on your own! Her husband was gone for less than TWO MONTHS!
Jennifer P.
September 8, 2012 at 1:02 am
When something so horrible happens at your base you wonder what could have been done. Many resources are available. Let's face it, even if you stop by to check on someone, they can just tell you everthing is O.K. If they don't let you in their home, how would you know it wasn't. A 21 year old with 3 young children is a huge challenge for such a young person. Let's learn from this. Military community, please check in on others. More check-ins on the spouses of the deployed.
Lori S.
September 4, 2012 at 5:05 pm
Dyess does offer parents night out for deployed spouces. there are plenty of things that she could have done differently. she had her options. i have gone threw several deployments and yes they are stressful but life doesnt just stop. you have to make the best of it and if you need to talk to someone, you pick up the phone and make a phone call. i pray for those babies and the father and i hope she gets whats coming to her
Lori L.
September 4, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Ok, I believe she said earlier her husband was deployed and she has noone to help her , hummm well where did these friends come from that stopped her from taking her life.. I am sickened to her her say I am depressed , and alone.. The Air Force, Army, whoever has on base help facilities Leaving a baby in her crib for a week cause she took off her diaper. Would she like going around in a soaking wet diaper for a week? Did she even feed the child? Most likely not.. Never even checked on her most likely... The baby had to cry for that week until she gave up... I feel sorry for the dad and I hope his family can help him get thru this.. God Bless those babies... She needs to be charged with abuse, neglect, murder, whatever .. But, what will our Justice system do, put her in a mental place like Colorado Psycho will end up....
sandy s.
September 4, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Ok, I believe she said earlier her husband was deployed and she has noone to help her , hummm well where did these friends come from that stopped her from taking her life.. I am sickened to her her say I am depressed , and alone.. The Air Force, Army, whoever has on base help facilities Leaving a baby in her crib for a week cause she took off her diaper. Would she like going around in a soaking wet diaper for a week? Did she even feed the child? Most likely not.. Never even checked on her most likely... The baby had to cry for that week until she gave up... I feel sorry for the dad and I hope his family can help him get thru this.. God Bless those babies... She needs to be charged with abuse, neglect, murder, whatever .. But, what will our Justice system do, put her in a mental place like Colorado Psycho will end up....
sandy s.
September 4, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Angela A the call was made on wed 8/29 she made it her self.. This women is all bs she is feed and clean why wherent her kids the same. 3 kids at 21 they have ways of not getting prego hello.. ok the 22 month old who is potty training taken a her diaper off no way kids do that!! she is all bs she was on fb at 4 in the morning why dont you sleep and get up and take care of your poor three helpless kids.. she should rot the way she killed her 22 month old little girl!!!
jessica d.
September 2, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Oh and she had friends that stopped her from killing herself !? Where were they when she was killing and hurting these kids !!
Erika A.
August 30, 2012 at 1:01 pm
I hope they beat the [censored] out of her in jail ! She is now gonna try to act like she was having problems .. [censored] really !! Rot in jail !!
Erika A.
August 30, 2012 at 12:58 pm
Ginny B. You are spot on. Another resouce the Military has is MilitaryOneSource.Com. We have many resources for deployed and or stressful situaitons. I personally have used them for counseling before and it helped. To say the base offers no help is very far from the truth. And for those who say such things need to check their resources before opening their mouths making them look like complete fools. The system is there, and it does work. For what ever reason this particular woman failed to use the resources given to her.
John J.
August 30, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Donald, Dyess does provide assistance to families. This woman could have gone to Mental Health to talk to someone about her depression. There is a playgroup that meets at the Hanger Center a few times a month...there are multiple babysitters on base she could have asked to watch her children so she could have some time to herself. Plus she apparently has friends so she could have reached out to them...we also have multiple groups on Facebook where people ask for advice, help, etc and women on those pages are more than willing to help. Plus there is a Key Spouse program for spouses of deployed servicemen. Saying you have no family so you have no help is nothing but a weak excuse...the base would have helped her!
Ginny B.
August 30, 2012 at 11:02 am
So she left her daughter to soak in urine for a WEEK??? This woman is disgusting. SOMEONE, one of her "friends" should have called 911, or SOMETHING, & those little girls would all be alive right now.
Marsha C.
August 30, 2012 at 10:34 am
Is this a misprint? It says she found her dead thursday but the call was placed on tuesday??
Angela A.
August 30, 2012 at 9:48 am
Donald...They do offer those programs. It is just another excuse!
Ashley B.
August 30, 2012 at 9:14 am
So Dyess offers no mothers day out, mom counseling program, mom and kids play days on base? What a bunch of cheapskates!
Donald D.
August 30, 2012 at 7:14 am
So Syess offers no mothers day out, mom counseling program, mom and kids play days on base? What a bunch of cheapskates!
Donald D.
August 30, 2012 at 7:13 am
Disgusting! First and foremost, babies do that... she has 2 older children, so she shoul know that! 2. FRIENDS CAME TO HELP after she tried to commit suicide???? [censored]?????? so these "friends" who helped figured the emergency was averted after they stopped one suicide attempt? This is ignorant. If I had been one of these alleged friends, 911 would have been called, she would have been placed in a treatment facility, and those babies would have gone to a relative or neighbor that she trusts until she recieved the care she needed... to leave her there, suicidal, with 3 kids was just plain stupid.
Merrilee M.
August 30, 2012 at 6:19 am
