What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? West Virginia
My 14 yr old son and I currently live with my mother. She is a retired nurse. she recently lost her husband of 30 yrs this past January, (we moved in with her in June of this year) and her brother passed away this past Monday. She has had questionable mental stability for quite some time now. She's been severely depressed - who wouldn't be? She has been in the frame of mind that she has no reason to live since her husband died, she's voiced a few times before that she just wants to die. She has been on medication for depression but we just recently found out that the meds were prescribed to her by her heart doctor, not a mental health doctor. She doesn't take her meds all the time because the are so expensive and she is on medicare.
She recently seemed to come out of her depression a little and was actually going out with her best friend from high school *she is a very young 66 by the way* going to the gym and started going back to church. Her brother passed away this past Monday and they buried him on Friday. she handled it pretty well - he had been sick for quite some time. She was very supportive to his wife and seemed to have a bond with her due to the loss of her husband.
At 8am yesterday - Sunday- she woke me up screaming about the hairdryer that she couldn't find. She demanded in this really scary voice that I get up and find it for her. I got up and looked around for a few minutes and after her still screaming at me i finally said im going back to bed you can find it yourself. Its not an unusual thing for her to wake up in a bad bad mood and yell at everyone. Im not the most patient person and sometimes out of frustration I yell back. After I laid back down, she came into my room and told me if I didn't get up and find the hairdryer for her that I could pack my **** and leave, she then went to call my sister who lives a few yards away and asked to borrow her dryer. My sister came up and talked to her for a few minutes before going to church herself. For the next few hours My son and I just stayed in the bedroom and out of her way. My sister came back after church and tried to talk to her again, and it was then that my mother told her that I needed to leave and if I tried to take my son she would shoot and kill me, kill him, then kill herself. When i heard her say that I kinda lost it. I told her that she was indeed crazy and she needed help. I am leaving and I am taking my son with me, I told her if she said that again I was calling the police. She continued to yell and scream and tell me how that wasn't going to happen and that if i ever believed anything she said, I should believe her when she said she would indeed kill us before she let that happen. My sister left to go and get her husband and i continued to get my things together. I told my son to go to my sisters house "right now" and he left. At one point as I was about to head towards the front door she passed me on the way to her bedroom and it dawned on me that she has a gun on her headboard (her husband was a retired law enforcement officer and she has his service pistol) I immediately headed for my car and when i got to the door of my car and turned around she was standing there with this cannon of a gun (357) pointed at me and this crazy look in her eyes! she said that if i drove toward my sisters house (just around the corner) that she would blow my head off. I started my car, backed out of the driveway and floored it around the curve to my sisters house to call 911. Its literally 50 yards away to my sisters driveway. As I drove away she shot one time towards my car. I pulled into my sisters driveway and yelled at her to call 911 and looked up to see my mother walking across the yard still holding that gun. we all ran into the house (my sister, her husband) and got all the kids in the back room of the house on the floor. At this point cops are on the way. She walked around the drive way and over to my car and started shooting at my tires and shot every one of them out and then turned around and walked back to her house. I honestly believe that is she had had any bullets left she would have taken her own life.
So to make a long story longer..My sister and I went through the steps to have her Legally committed - that same night. She needs help. She's gone to far this time, she shot at me, threatened my life and my son's. The tell us that she may be out in as many as 3 days or 72 hours depending on what the Dr. says. She's a retired nurse, ,she has worked on the behavioral unit before , she knows the system. The police tell me that by the time the 72 hours are up the warrants will be back, but because of who her husband was and who she knows (judges and magistrates and such) that its possible they will go easy on her - due to her mental stress, and out of respect for my stepfather. Im scared of her getting out. I'm 3 weeks into a new job and will only receive the first paycheck on the 20th. I don't have anywhere else to go. My sister is scared too. Her children are terrified of their grandmother coming home. Due to the committal and charges she faces, she will loose her nursing license. The police didnt really explain what charges there would be. This was all only yesterday and we're still not sure whats going to happen. Is that attempted murder? Aggravated assault? destruction of property?? Can I stay here until I can find a place to live? Would a restraining order keep her away from her house - but also my son's home for the last 6 yrs? until we can find a place to live? Do I really go ahead and press charges? do i have a choice in that matter? Im very confused and not sure what to do
My 14 yr old son and I currently live with my mother. She is a retired nurse. she recently lost her husband of 30 yrs this past January, (we moved in with her in June of this year) and her brother passed away this past Monday. She has had questionable mental stability for quite some time now. She's been severely depressed - who wouldn't be? She has been in the frame of mind that she has no reason to live since her husband died, she's voiced a few times before that she just wants to die. She has been on medication for depression but we just recently found out that the meds were prescribed to her by her heart doctor, not a mental health doctor. She doesn't take her meds all the time because the are so expensive and she is on medicare.
She recently seemed to come out of her depression a little and was actually going out with her best friend from high school *she is a very young 66 by the way* going to the gym and started going back to church. Her brother passed away this past Monday and they buried him on Friday. she handled it pretty well - he had been sick for quite some time. She was very supportive to his wife and seemed to have a bond with her due to the loss of her husband.
At 8am yesterday - Sunday- she woke me up screaming about the hairdryer that she couldn't find. She demanded in this really scary voice that I get up and find it for her. I got up and looked around for a few minutes and after her still screaming at me i finally said im going back to bed you can find it yourself. Its not an unusual thing for her to wake up in a bad bad mood and yell at everyone. Im not the most patient person and sometimes out of frustration I yell back. After I laid back down, she came into my room and told me if I didn't get up and find the hairdryer for her that I could pack my **** and leave, she then went to call my sister who lives a few yards away and asked to borrow her dryer. My sister came up and talked to her for a few minutes before going to church herself. For the next few hours My son and I just stayed in the bedroom and out of her way. My sister came back after church and tried to talk to her again, and it was then that my mother told her that I needed to leave and if I tried to take my son she would shoot and kill me, kill him, then kill herself. When i heard her say that I kinda lost it. I told her that she was indeed crazy and she needed help. I am leaving and I am taking my son with me, I told her if she said that again I was calling the police. She continued to yell and scream and tell me how that wasn't going to happen and that if i ever believed anything she said, I should believe her when she said she would indeed kill us before she let that happen. My sister left to go and get her husband and i continued to get my things together. I told my son to go to my sisters house "right now" and he left. At one point as I was about to head towards the front door she passed me on the way to her bedroom and it dawned on me that she has a gun on her headboard (her husband was a retired law enforcement officer and she has his service pistol) I immediately headed for my car and when i got to the door of my car and turned around she was standing there with this cannon of a gun (357) pointed at me and this crazy look in her eyes! she said that if i drove toward my sisters house (just around the corner) that she would blow my head off. I started my car, backed out of the driveway and floored it around the curve to my sisters house to call 911. Its literally 50 yards away to my sisters driveway. As I drove away she shot one time towards my car. I pulled into my sisters driveway and yelled at her to call 911 and looked up to see my mother walking across the yard still holding that gun. we all ran into the house (my sister, her husband) and got all the kids in the back room of the house on the floor. At this point cops are on the way. She walked around the drive way and over to my car and started shooting at my tires and shot every one of them out and then turned around and walked back to her house. I honestly believe that is she had had any bullets left she would have taken her own life.
So to make a long story longer..My sister and I went through the steps to have her Legally committed - that same night. She needs help. She's gone to far this time, she shot at me, threatened my life and my son's. The tell us that she may be out in as many as 3 days or 72 hours depending on what the Dr. says. She's a retired nurse, ,she has worked on the behavioral unit before , she knows the system. The police tell me that by the time the 72 hours are up the warrants will be back, but because of who her husband was and who she knows (judges and magistrates and such) that its possible they will go easy on her - due to her mental stress, and out of respect for my stepfather. Im scared of her getting out. I'm 3 weeks into a new job and will only receive the first paycheck on the 20th. I don't have anywhere else to go. My sister is scared too. Her children are terrified of their grandmother coming home. Due to the committal and charges she faces, she will loose her nursing license. The police didnt really explain what charges there would be. This was all only yesterday and we're still not sure whats going to happen. Is that attempted murder? Aggravated assault? destruction of property?? Can I stay here until I can find a place to live? Would a restraining order keep her away from her house - but also my son's home for the last 6 yrs? until we can find a place to live? Do I really go ahead and press charges? do i have a choice in that matter? Im very confused and not sure what to do
