WHITEHALL, MT - A mother allegedly suffocated her five-year-old son to death with a plastic bag because she "wanted to save him."
The mother, Kathryn Garaas, is accused of deliberate homicide in the death of her son, Reign Tyler Blair, at their home in Whitehall, Montana, Law & Crime reported. Deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) responded on the afternoon of April 24 to the home for a medical emergency.
A probable cause arrest affidavit states that the boy's father asked for a welfare check on the boy when he received a disturbing text message from Garaas. Upon arriving at the home, when Garaas opened the door, she told the deputies "he's in his room."
Deputies went to the boy's room to find a plastic bag over his head. He was pronounced dead on scene. Garaas reportedly told deputies that she killed her son because she felt she had to "save him because things would have gotten so much worse."
Colleen Much, who started a GoFundMe account on behalf of the little boy's family, said that Garaas was previously separated from the family. However, Garaas had been staying with the boy and his father for weeks leading up to the murder without incident.
"I cannot and will absolutely not pretend to claim we have even a remote understanding of the reasoning behind this, or what occurred," Much wrote in the description. "We pray for answers that may never come, and when they do, no healing will come of it."
Much called Reign a "precious, innocent, perfect, beautiful little light" who was raised by his father. "Reign is his purpose, his love, and his life from the moment he took his first breath," Much wrote. "There are no words for the kind of strength it takes for a man to be a single father, and the life he built for Reign is one we take solace in knowing was fulfilled with love, laughter, and precious joy."
Garaas remains at the Jefferson County Jail on a $5 million bond, according to KRTV. Her next court date has been set for June 10.
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