Murder for pleasure or attention?
Christine Falling was born on March 12, 1963 in Perry, Florida. Her birth name was Christine Slaughter. Christine's childhood was full of neglect and abuse. When her mother gave birth to her, she was only 16 and her father was 65. Christine also had an older sister, Carol.
Her father was violent and her mother was neglectful and would just disappear for months. After Christine's birth, her mother had two more sons named, Michael and Earl.
At the age of 4, Christine, along with her sister Carol were adopted by the Falling family. But it only resulted in more suffering for the girls. They claimed that they were being sexually abused by their adoptive father, Jesse Falling. But the Falling family denied the allegations.
But soon the sisters were sent to a group foster home in Great Oaks Village in Orlando, Florida. Now Christine had a good time there but her caretakers weren't happy with her. They said that she was a habitual liar and would often break rules for attention. She was also known for her violent behavior.
As she was considered developmentally disabled, she was bullied a lot by the other kids there. She was also caught stealing and killing animals for pleasure. After a year, both of the sisters were sent back to live with the Fallings again and the abuse continued. But soon they ran away and Christine moved to Blountstown, Florida to live with her biological mother.
Interestingly enough, at the age of 14 Christine got married to a man who was in his 20's. The marriage was full of abuse and violence. So very soon it ended. After her divorce, this is when she started experiencing hypochondriac episodes. She was hospitalized about 50 times for it. But the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with her.
From the age of 17, Christine started working as a babysitter in the neighborhood. This is where things started going down. In February of 1980, Christine was babysitting a two year old named Cassidy Johnson. It was a normal evening, but suddenly the 2 year old was rushed to the hospital. Christine told them that Cassidy passed out and fell out of her crib.
Little Cassidy was diagnosed with encephalitis and she passed away a few days later. According to the autopsy, the cause of death was blood forced trauma into the skull. But no one suspected anything except the physician. They reported it to the police and Cristine was even interrogated but nothing came out of it. They had no evidence.
That very month, she was babysitting 4 year old Jeffery Davis. The same thing happened to him and all of a sudden little Jeffery stopped breathing. Christine informed 911 but it was too late. According to the autopsy the cause of death was myocarditis. But once again, no one suspected anything.
Few days later, at young Jeffery's funeral, Christine was babysitting his little cousin, Joseph Spring. And yet again, in the middle of her session she called 911 because 2 year old Joseph wasn't waking up. Apparently, he died shortly after reaching the hospital. But even after all this, there weren't any investigations done. They figured it was just a viral infection.
It only took Christine a month to strike again. Cristine was babysitting 3 year old Kyle Summerlin. And of course the baby was soon rushed to the hospital. Fortunately, the doctors were able to save him and they later diagnosed him with meningitis. After a year, Christine had another failed attempt, with 3 year old Charles and 14 months old Jeffery Heel. They fell sick in her care and were hospitalized but fortunately they survived. After that she decided to move out.
So Christine decided to move back to her hometown, Perry. There she started working as a nursing assistant for senior citizens. She started taking care of an elderly by the name of William Swindle. And On the very first day of Christine's care, William was found passed out on his kitchen floor. He was rushed to the hospital but it was no use. Because of his poor health and age everyone just assumed that his cause of death was probably natural and no further investigations were done.
The same month, Christine decided to strike again, when she went to the supermarket with her sister and niece. Her sister left her 8 month old daughter, Jennifer, in Christine's care. She came back and found her daughter dead and Christine, panicking. But the doctors declared that the cause of death was natural.
A year later, in 1982, Christine was watching 10 weeks old Travis Coleman. Suddenly he was rushed to the hospital but fortunately ended up surviving. After he was sent home, Travis's parents asked Christine to watch him again. And this time Christine was successful at her attempt.
An autopsy was done and there were internal injuries found in young Travis's body which can only be caused by suffocation. But still, no one suspected Christine for a second. Everyone thought she was a "victim of circumstances".
But it all came to an end when the local newspaper, The Tallahassee Democrat, asked Christine for an interview. In that interview she made some questionable remarks. Which raised some eyebrows and finally caught the attention of the police. They brought her in for interrogation and they felt as if she wasn't well. So they admitted her to a psychiatric hospital for assessment and that is where she finally confessed.
She confessed to killing only 3 children and denied the others. According to her statement, she heard voices telling her to "kill the baby". She listened to the voices and killed the children through pressing pillows or blankets over their faces. She had no particular motives. It seemed as if she was just taking her aggression out on the young children. Many believed that Christine also enjoyed the attention she was receiving.
In 1982, the babysitter from hell was arrested and charged with first degree murder. In December of 1982, Christine pled guilty for the murder of 3 children, but later she also confessed to the murder of the elderly, William Swindle. Although the state didn't seek the death penalty, instead, Christine received 3 concurrent life sentences. In 2017, she applied for parole, but her application was rejected.
Currently, Christine is imprisoned at the Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida.
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