Mom charged with botched murder-suicide

SOUTH ST. PAUL, Minn., July 11 (UPI) -- Bail was set at $1 million Friday for a Minnesota woman who allegedly killed her 10-year-old son in a botched murder-suicide attempt, charging documents say.

Patricia Becht of South St. Paul was arrested Thursday after being released from a hospital, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. She had swallowed 25 capsules of the mood-stabilizer Seroquel and given her two children 10 each, investigators say.

Becht was charged with the murder of her son, Michael Becht Jr., and the attempted murder of her 11-year-old daughter, Erica.

A niece found the family Monday. Michael and Erica were lying on a bed, while their mother vomited in the bathroom, police said. Erica is expected to survive.

Investigators discovered a note for Becht's 16-year-old daughter in the home saying she and the two younger children were "happy to be gone" and a list of "things to do for Sunday."

A neighborhood boy told police Michael had said something to him about pills, but Erica quickly shushed him.

In a hospital interview with police, Becht allegedly said she told the children they would be going to Neverland Ranch -- the California compound established as a haven by the late Michael Jackson -- and that it was "like heaven."