FULL
TEXT: Hazeldon, Pa. – A socially prominent church choir singer was charged
today with slaying her 15-month-old son after admitting she repeatedly slapped
and bumped the baby’s head against the floor to cure him of “Freudian jealousy”
of his 2 ½-year-old sister.
Mrs.
Martha Woodson Kalwaic, 26, a university-trained child psychologist, was
transferred without bail in the Luzerne County Women’s Detention Home at Wilkes-Barre
after being arraigned on a general charge of murder.
The
child, Henry jr., died yesterday in Hazledon Hospital. Police said he had been
beaten about the abdomen, that his lips were discolored from blows on the mouth
and that his head was battered from the banging on the floor.
The
attractive Mrs. Kalwaic, who is expecting another baby in about two months,
broke down in tears twice while she told Police Chief Steve Havrilla of the
events leading to her son's death.
The
soft-spoken daughter of a Richmond, Va., judge, told Havrilla that she had
suspected the baby was indulging in temper trantrums to annoy his sister.
~
Cared More For Sister ~
Mrs.
Kalwaic, a graduate in psychology from William and Mary College, said she
believed the boy felt she cared more for his sister Karen than she did for him.
She was quoted as saying she decided to beat this “Freudian jealousy” out of
the boy.
Havrilla
said Mrs. Kalwaic, a choir singer at St. Peter's Church, told him she had
planned to send the boy to her parents' home in Richmond, but meanwhile had
been bumping his head on the flood “for some time.”
The
case was called to the attention of authorities when Dr. James V. Kennedy, a
child specialist who had gone to the Kalwaic home to treat the boy, ordered him
taken to the hospital where he died.
Mrs.
Kalwaic’s husband. Dr. Henry Kalwaic, 30, is a prominent local dentist and is
active in community affairs. The couple came here two years ago from
Philadelphia where Kalwaic’s mother is vice-president of the Union of Polish
Women of America.
[“Mother Kills Baby by Banging Head on Floor,”
syndicated (UP), May 18, 1949, p. 1]
***
FULL TEXT: Mrs. Martha Woodson Kalwaic, acquitted in the
death of her 15- month-old son, was a free woman seeking a new life yesterday.
Mrs. Kalwaic was paroled by Luzerne County Judge Frank L. Pinola in the custody
of her brother, Col. C. W. Woodson, Jr., head of the Virginia State Police.
The 29-year-old Hazleton mother member of an old Virginia
family was found innocent on the ground of temporary insanity by a jury of nine
women and three men. She had admitted thumping her child's head on the floor of
their apartment.
Judge Pinola told Mrs. Kalwaic she was not being discharged
unconditionally.
"I want you to have treatment by doctors in Richmond
and have them send me periodic reports on your condition. All you need is some
care," the judge told Mrs. Kalwaic, who plans to return to Virginia to
live.
Immediately after the verdict Thursday night, District
Attorney Leon Schwartz asked Judge Pinola to hold Mrs. Kalwaic in custody until
it was determined whether she is now sane.
Both lawyers agreed to have Mrs. Kalwaic examined by two dis
interested psychiatrists who had not been connected with the trial.
Unable to obtain the services of the two psychiatrists
immediately the attorneys agreed to take the testimony of the two defense
psychiatrists, Dr. Edward Janjigian and Dr. J. Franklin Robinson.
Dr. Janjigian testified during the trial that Mrs. Kalwaic,
although insane at the time her son, Henry, was killed on May 12, now had
regained her sanity.
Dr. Robinson, also advised Judge Pinola that Mrs. Kalwaic
now is sane and urged her parole.
When Mrs. Kalwaic was called to the bar, Judge Pinola said:
"These two doctors are eminently qualified and highly
respected in their profession, so on their advice I am going to parole you,
although I could send you to an institution for treatment.
"I am releasing you under the supervision of your
brother," the' judge said, adding, "I hope you can restore your
family conditions and obtain a new start in life."
Mrs. Kalwaic said in a voice that was almost a whisper:
"Thank you."
PHOTO CAPTION: Mrs. Martha Woodson Kalwaic, with a faint
smile of happiness on her face, walks out of Judge Frank Pinola's courtroom at
Wilkes-Barre, after being acquitted in the fatal beating of her 15-month-old
son, Henry, last May 12. Escorting her back to the Luzerne County Women s
Detention Ward where she underwent psychiatric examination yesterday, is Deputy
Sheriff James McCullough (right). In left background is Atty. Richard Bigelow, one
of her defense counsel.
[“Mrs. Kalwaic Returns To Her Family,” Standard-Speaker (Hazleton,
Pa.), Oct. 8, 1949, p. 4]
***
PHOTO
CAPTION: Mrs. Martha Woodson Kalwaic, former Virginia society girl and child
psychology student, shown leaving Wilkes-Barre, Pa., courtroom with Deputy
Sheriff James McCullough, was in the parole custody of her brother, a Virginia
State Police official. A jury freed her of charges in fatal beating of her
15-month-old son. Judge Frank L. Pinola said she was not being discharged unconditionally
but would hare to undergo treatment by physicians in Richmond, Va., and submit
reports to him.
[“Paroled After Fatal Beating,” syndicated (AP), The Morning
Herald (Hagerstown, Md.), Oct. 12, 1949, p. 4]
***
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[633-11/3/20]
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