Mom accused of fatally stabbing son says it was his 18th birthday wish, cops say

A mother accused of fatally stabbing her son a day before he turned 18 said it was his birthday wish to die, according Michigan authorities and news reports.

Katie Austin Lee, 39, was still holding a kitchen knife when police in Holland arrived at the mother and son’s apartment Friday, February 21, according to court documents obtained by WOOD. She told officers to kill her “so she could be with her son.”

Officers had been dispatched to the home after the mother called 911, telling a dispatcher she was attempting “to get her son to stop breathing for some time, but had been unsuccessful,” WXMI reported, citing court records.

They each tried to overdose on medication the day prior, according to MLive.com. Because her son was still breathing, she told dispatchers she cut his throat and arm.

Lee’s son, Austin Dean Pikaart, was discovered lying in a pool of blood and was pronounced dead at the scene, WZZM reported.

According to Lee, it was Pikaart’s wish to die before his 18th birthday, which would have been the next day, according to the Grand Rapids station.