#385: Mom Microwaved 2-Month-Old Baby For 5 Minutes While Having A Seizure

Kai Yang has struggled with a severe seizure disorder since she was around 13 or 14 years old, enduring approximately 100 seizures over 15 years. Her condition has been characterized by episodes ranging from complete unconsciousness and convulsions to disoriented, hazy states with memory lapses.

Kai Yang has suffered from severe epileptic seizures since the age of 13 or 14, often experiencing around 100 seizures over the past 15 years.

After her first seizure at her uncle's house, which was traumatic, Kai Yang was diagnosed with epilepsy. In the years following, she suffered an average of six to seven seizures a year, requiring medication that was not entirely effective. Witnesses report that during her seizures, Kai could not perform activities requiring significant coordination, such as driving or working on a computer. After a seizure, she would enter a postictal or haze phase, taking about 30 minutes to "reboot her brain," during which she typically could not form active memories.

Kai Yang's seizures range in severity, with some causing her to become completely unconscious and convulse, while others leave her in a disoriented, hazy state without full memory of what occurred.

Kai Yang’s seizures have been described as varying in intensity. Experts note that, while it's possible for someone experiencing a partial complex seizure to operate a microwave, such an instance would be exceedingly rare. During less severe episodes, known as "fast seizures," she might remain partially conscious, whereas more intense tonic-clonic seizures would lead to a postictal state—a hazy period where complex actions like typing an email or operating a microwave are highly improbable.

Kai Yang's family and friends describe her seizures as debilitating, requiring assistance and supervision to recover, in contrast with her alertness and responsiveness when authorities arrived the day of Mirabelle's death.

Family and friends attest to Kai’s debilitating seizures and subsequent confusion. They have observed that, usually post-seizure, Kai Yang requires assistance and exhibits low energy and disorientation, with the recovery period lasting several hours to regain full cognition. In contrast, following the tragic incident with her daughter Mirabelle, first responders and her brother-in-law, Va, noted Kai's untypical alertness and responsiveness—they did not observe her in her usual post-seizure dazed state, raising questions about her actions.

Kai Yang's history of seizures and her fa ...

The tragic death of baby Mirabelle reveals harrowing and complex forensic evidence that contradicts Kai Yang's initial account and suggests a dark and deliberate act.

The baby Mirabelle sustained severe internal and external thermal burns consistent with being placed in a microwave for an extended period, estimated around 2-5 minutes.

The nature and extent of Mirabelle's injuries

Baby Mirabelle's body exhibited severe burns, with over 80% of her body covered in external thermal injuries, and approximately 56% exhibiting second and third-degree burns. However, she also had deep tissue and fourth-degree radiation burns—reaching down to the bone, which are not typical of contact with fire or acid. These injuries were so extensive they damaged her internal organs, indicating that they were the result of being cooked from the inside out. This method of injury is specific and has been seen in other cases involving infants microwaved.

Investigators found a pacifier inside the microwave

While examining the scene, investigators found a purple pacifier inside the microwave, which along with the nature of the injuries, suggested intentional placement rather than accidental exposure. Notably, Mirabelle's hair and clothes were not as burned as her body, which is inconsistent with injuries from a space heater. The thermal burns Mirabelle had were unusual, similar only to a few other cases in the country linked to microwave burns.

The timeline of events, with Kai Yang being left alone with Mirabelle for only 11 minutes, makes it highly improbable that Kai Yang's seizure alone could account for Mirabelle's death in the microwave.

Exper ...

The case of Kai Yang raises challenging questions about the intersection of psychological factors, cultural beliefs, and the tragic death of her daughter Mirabelle.

The prosecution argued that Kai Yang may have been suffering from undiagnosed postpartum depression or psychosis

The prosecution raises the possibility that postpartum issues played a role in the inexplicable tragedy, suggesting that Kai Yang was dealing with postpartum depression and possibly psychosis following the birth of Mirabelle. They note that postpartum issues are most common in the first three months after childbirth and that Yang may have been overwhelmed on the day of the incident, potentially leading to harm. Moreover, they noted behaviors that might indicate undiagnosed psychosis, like involving a priest and discussing spirits, ones they believe could be linked to her Hmong cultural background.

Despite this, the defense argues that there is no concrete evidence to prove that Yang had postpartum psychosis to such an extent. They note the dramatic nature of the condition and how it would not have gone unnoticed.

However, the defense contested that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence that Kai Yang exhibited clear symptoms of postpartum mental health issues

Stephanie Soo mentions that despite the prosecution's insistence on potential postpartum issues, Ka Yang has consistently denied feeling depressed and screened negative for postpartum depression. The defense highlighted the lack of solid evidence and diagnostic confirmation of postpartum psychosis, suggesting that Yang's actions following her seizure might have been due to confusion and delirium rather than psychosis.

Additionally, the expert for the defense highlighted that postpartum psychosis is a condition that is usually noticeable to those around, which was not the case with Yang.

Kai Yang herself reported experiencing auditory hallucinations and a sense of "spirits" or a "Caucasian demon" around the time of Mirabelle's death

Kai Yang and her husband reported strange phenomena, like a Caucasian demon staring at them and wanting their baby. But Yang clarified she never claimed the spirit compelled her actions. Stephanie Soo mentions that Yang’s reference to "spirits" could be interpreted as an impending seizure based on her Hmong cultural beliefs, rather than literal spirits, a point the defense used to argue that the prosecution may be taking her words too literally.

Ka Yang had expressed a fear of her daughter inheriting her predisposition for seizures which, according to one theory, could imply a motive rooted in a desire to protect Mirabelle from a similar fate.

The defense argued that Kai Yang's descriptions of her experiences with "spirits" and "demons" were rooted in her Hmong cultural beliefs

The defense countered the prosecution's interpretati ...

The case of Kai Yang, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, has taken a significant turn after her conviction was reversed on appeal due to concerns over the fairness of her trial and the evidence presented by the prosecution.

The initial trial resulted in Kai Yang being convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

In the initial trial, Kai Yang’s defense team argued that the evidence against her was flawed, claiming that her pediatrician was improperly involved in the trial and that her history of epilepsy was not adequately considered as the primary factor in the death of Mirabelle. Despite these arguments, Yang was found guilty and received a 25 years to life sentence, a verdict that her lawyers believed to be incorrect, attributing the unfortunate tragedy to Yang's medical condition rather than deliberate harm.

Kai Yang's conviction has been reversed on appeal, with the court determining that the original trial was unfair and lacked sufficient evidence to support the prosecution's theories.

Upon appeal, the defense team successfully argued that the trial was unfair and that the prosecution based their case on insufficient evidence. They contended that the same doctor who had screened Kai Yang for postpartum depression and found her negative ended up testifying for the prosecution regarding postpartum depression psychosis. Furthermore, the defense criticized the prosecution for pushing unreliable statistics, such as one stating that 41% of women with mental illness and depression harbored thoughts of harming their child, challenging the relevance and rel ...