LAPD investigating death threats against octuplets' mother

Los Angeles police officials said they would investigate death threats against the woman who gave birth to octuplets.

Nadya Suleman's publicist said some people had sent threats and other ugly messages via e-mail on a website set up to take donations for the eight babies. Suleman has come under criticism by some for having octuplets after already having six children.

Lt. David McGill of the LAPD's West Los Angeles Division said an investigator was going to the office of the publicist, the Killeen Furtney Group, which is in Brentwood.

"First we want to determine if the threats are being sent to the firm or her," McGill said.

He said if the threats were being sent to Suleman, then most probably another agency would investigate the matter because she does not live in the West Los Angeles area. Suleman lives in Whittier but has been living at an undisclosed location since leaving the hospital.

-- Ruben Vives

Previously on L.A. Now

Octuplets' mother seeking donations on website

Octuplets' mother: I am not on welfare

Octuplets could be costly for taxpayers

Octuplets' mother receives public assistance [UPDATED]

Octuplets' mom says society is judging her unfairly

Photo: NBC

Comments

[phoenixandrew]

I don't condone people making threats, but I completely understand society's frustration with this leech.

[Amy]

I think this woman is selfish for burdening her mother with all these children in her house, irresponsible for having fourteen children in the midst of an overpopulation crisis, hypocritical for refusing selective reduction yet undergoing IVF in the first place, delusional for thinking she can support all these children (because money is just "paper" and "God" will provide), deranged for being so obsessed with having babies and audacious for hiring a publicist and soliciting donations. I find the whole situation appalling and feel sorry for the innocent children.

However, I am infinitely more appalled that someone would levy a death threat against her because they disagree with her choices. Sadly, having read most of the comments on this website in response to all the stories about Suleman, I'm not shocked that there are those out there who would be so vile. I hope they are just empty threats from ignorant minds, but such behavior is reprehensible.

[billya]

a clear attempt by the PR firm to cast this wacko in the victim role.

the PR site puts up a website that has 2 functions, donate or comment knowing it will be a lightning rod for people bashing this loon.

PR firm collects negative comments and contacts police.

pathetic

[angela]

Ugh! Stop making death threats! Aren't California taxpayers already paying enough for this pig? Now more taxpayer money has to go for police resources for investigate these so called threats as well. We're already going to be paying for this family between SSI and whatever other welfare she manages to wrangle for the rest of our lifetime.

[Missy]

I don't feel anyone should threaten Nadya, however she is going to get negative comments because the majority of people feel that she is not capable of raising 14 children, 3 of them already disabled. She lives on her kids disability, she used her education loan to pay for her kids, she is in debt by a large amount of money. She does not live in a home, that is not an ideal setting for all those children. Does she have any idea how much it will cost to raise all those kids to college age? How can she even care for the kids, premies take alot of patience and time?

[Mark Smith]

The LAPD should be investigating her theft and extortion from the taxpayers of this state to support her horrific lifestyle choices and for spraying the taxpayers with the products of her assault uterus. If the useless Medical Board does nothing in terms of permanent revocation of the licensure for the physician involved in this case then such is par for the course for showing their utter uselessness.

[cheri parker]

I would just like to know why the mother is taking all the heat by herself, is the father to ashamed of what he did to come forward?

[Joe]

Why investigate anything??If Nadya Suleman dies tommorrow america will be a better place !!!

[zhyachts]

The fertility doctor that facilitated this tragedy is, in effect, the "father". He should be responsible for their support - not us.!

[babymaker]

The cowards that are threatening this women, and her babies should be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law, including supporting the children through a trust fund, how can people be so ignorant?

[Katie]

It's horrifying the way some people have turned on this woman and her children like a vicious mob. Makes me sick at heart, and afraid for humanity. It's as if they're pinning the blame for whole social, environmental and economic crisis on this one unfortunate scapegoat. Bankers, ponzi schemers, war contractors, ripping off the whole planet and costing trillions in dollars and misery, depriving people of their pensions... but let's not look at that. 'No, no... look at the food stamps her kids are collecting.' The rich make it out the door with billions of tax-payers money in bailouts and hush-money, but everyone's focused on "octomom" - a scapegoat who can barely fight back. People should step back and take a good look at themselves and the world that they live in. Please, this is barbaric. I can only hope that some responsible journalist will write a piece and end this worship of cruelty.

[Jennifer]

I think this woman deserves all the love and respect in the world! As a single mom of 8, I now have a true role model. I am on government assistant but occasionally work under the table as a dancer. But no matter what life throws at us, I can now show everyone a shining example that anyone can be a GREAT MOM!

[gavu]

She is a stupid as she looks. Not DNA that needs to be preserved.

[Joe]

It's not the fact that she has 14 kids, it's the fact that she can't support the six she already has. It wouldn't be a big deal at all if she didn't rely on the government (therefore MY tax dollars) to survive. I'm not trying to be mean here, or say that those death threats are warranted, but take a look at the facts. She, for some reason, felt the need to have IVF so that she could have more kids, ergo more government handouts to pay off her student loans. What kind of lives are these kids going to have, where their mom couldn't even afford to feed herself before she had them?

[Chada]

What an immoral, selfish, disgusting waste of life this girl is. Her kids should be taken away, and she should be made sterile.

What kind of "person" would have MORE children after already having 6, not having a real job, being single, being on disability, and living in an apartment in LA?

She is no person at all.

[Crazy Is as Crazy Does]

People are buying the PR machine that obviously is created to evoke sympathy and in turn donations. All we have is the "claim" of death threats received by a PR firm, and even those seem suspicious since they have been summed up as along the line of "I wish she would die" (NOT a threat, but an ill conceived expression of emotion) and "put her in a chipper shredder" (again, seems innocous and more along the line of fantasy since it appears to stem from watching movies like Fargo). The information was put out into the media by the PR firm, NOT the police, and it serves several purposes -
1. Propels the PR firm into the media and the spokespersons into the limelight
2. Sympathy for the Octomom
3. Additional donations
4. Garner additional public resources
5. Forces law enforcement into some action and again consumes public services
6. Makes Octomom feel important and special

What I hope this information will do is to document the activities of that woman so that it can be used in any other investigations by Child Protective Services to ensure that the kids are cared for properly. Also, it might curb the Octomom from luxury spending on items such as her personal appearance and the recent capture of her on film buying computer games.

Do not donate a penny to this woman or her PR group, it will force a solution much quicker if she has to rely on food stamps and disability to sustain her brood. I hope that her parents make good on their wishes to leave the kids when she returns, or will they share in the looting after all?

[citybreezer]

I felt from the first day that the media played an irresponsible role in hyping this situation. Even before they knew a single thing about this woman they camped out at her hospital and Ch. 9's Dave Hernandez was typical when he said on-air how upset he and the others were when she didn't give them an interview or let the hospital talk to them even within 24 hours of a C-section. Then they went to her house and interviewed unsuspecting neighbors til they finally got her parents and her.

Octomom turned out to be more of a PR bonanza than anyone could have expected and even Dr. Phil had a show about her yesterday, with plastic surgeons speculating about her surgeries and how much they would have cost, while she's getting welfare.

Sure she's irresponsible and has psychological problems but consider how many others out there have babies they can't afford or shouldn't have looking at it from the babies' point of view, collectively how much they cost. Where will our concern end? Is this the start of prying into everyone's life?

Looks like it - now the doctor's under scrutiny again because a 49-year old patient of his is pregnant with 4 babies. They already revealed she's married to a guy in his 30's who wanted a family, and they both have jobs but no insurance so she somehow did this on public assistance.

It is NOT anyone's business however that a woman this age is having babies if she's in otherwise good physical condition -- many obese or couch potato younger women may be far worse candidates for pregnancy and agism is bad enough when it comes to women and how they're treated. This must be a matter based on the individual, but one doctor on CH. 7 already was saying this was wrong based on her age knowing nothing else about her. WRONG. Some older parents are very healthy, athletic, and financially better set than younger people.

The only part that IS a legit concern to the public: how on earth is MediCal paying for invitro procedures, or are these people just sticking their hospitals with the bills unpaid, since they don't own anything to take in case they're sued? OctoMom is a Kaiser patient and that's a concern for other Kaiser patients if they're picking up the tab with higher rates while they're denied other expensive procedures.

But I do NOT want to have Big Brother telling us we can't have babies after a certain age or if women are single or divorced -- only when and if the public will pay for it.

[citybreezer]

I felt from the first day that the media played an irresponsible role in hyping this situation. Even before they knew a single thing about this woman they camped out at her hospital and Ch. 9's Dave Hernandez was typical when he said on-air how upset he and the others were when she didn't give them an interview or let the hospital talk to them even within 24 hours of a C-section. Then they went to her house and interviewed unsuspecting neighbors til they finally got her parents and her.

Octomom turned out to be more of a PR bonanza than anyone could have expected and even Dr. Phil had a show about her yesterday, with plastic surgeons speculating about her surgeries and how much they would have cost, while she's getting welfare.

Sure she's irresponsible and has psychological problems but consider how many others out there have babies they can't afford or shouldn't have looking at it from the babies' point of view, collectively how much they cost. Where will our concern end? Is this the start of prying into everyone's life?

Looks like it - now the doctor's under scrutiny again because a 49-year old patient of his is pregnant with 4 babies. They already revealed she's married to a guy in his 30's who wanted a family, and they both have jobs but no insurance so she somehow did this on public assistance.

It is NOT anyone's business however that a woman this age is having babies if she's in otherwise good physical condition -- many obese or couch potato younger women may be far worse candidates for pregnancy and agism is bad enough when it comes to women and how they're treated. This must be a matter based on the individual, but one doctor on CH. 7 already was saying this was wrong based on her age knowing nothing else about her. WRONG. Some older parents are very healthy, athletic, and financially better set than younger people.

The only part that IS a legit concern to the public: how on earth is MediCal paying for invitro procedures, or are these people just sticking their hospitals with the bills unpaid, since they don't own anything to take in case they're sued? OctoMom is a Kaiser patient and that's a concern for other Kaiser patients if they're picking up the tab with higher rates while they're denied other expensive procedures.

But I do NOT want to have Big Brother telling us we can't have babies after a certain age or if women are single or divorced -- only when and if the public will pay for it.

[Will Baker]

She looks like a queen ant with a giant egg sac. It is putrid. Seriously - when I saw that pregnancy pic, I fell ill, and couldn't eat my dinner. I had prepared a roasted duck with new potatoes and orange sauce - and I was too repulsed to eat it. She should send me money to cover my lost dinner. Disgusting parasite...

LAPD - Investigate her for welfare fraud, disability fraud, child neglect, etc...

[Carrie Cooper]

I think this woman is irresponsible and selfish. It makes me sick. She should look into adoption for some of those children, so they can go to a STABLE home. If anything, those children are the one's that are being taken advantage of. She's using them to get donations?!!!! GET A JOB LADY!!!! You will NOT get ONE DOLLAR of my hard earned money. I hope other's will not donate as well. I also think that the doctor that artificially inseminated her should be investigated. It doesn't make sense to me why a doctor would do this when she doesn't have a job. What the hell was he thinking?

[nomercy]

Read another story on LATIMES

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/02/mansa-musa-muhu.html
"Mr. Muhummed showed no remorse and accepted no responsibility for his twisted behavior, and the court is sending the strongest message possible,"

This woman intentionally put all her children in a dangerous situation and should be punished as well. She deserves 14 life sentences.

[Martiy Courtney]

I left a message on her website telling her I hoped they take the kids from her because she is crazy (I used an adjective I will not use here).

Death threats are stupid and juvenile.

This person is a leech, nothing more. Those kids are going to suffer because of her.

Makes you wish for forced sterilization. DO NOT GIVE HER A PENNY!

[Darren]

Okay, I may strongly dissagree with the mother's decision to have so many children that she obviously could not afford but the backlash by these right wing hack political opportunists who jump at any chance to spew out their vile, greedy, racist, hateful nazi-like garbage at this woman is fully reprehensible. They're probably the same hypocrites that think leaving a trillion dollar war bill for our children to pay off is fully morally acceptable but shelling out .0000001% of their paycheck for this woman is deemed not okay. The idiocy of this country's populace really can amaze me sometimes.
I'm a taxpayer, a Californian, a healthcare worker and I contribute my fair share to the system. Probably more than anyone else here. So why am I not as alarmed? I have a life and I have more significant things to worry about.

[Amy]

No Mercy, you'd have been more accurate to identify yourself as "No Brains." You're actually going to try to analogize having too many children to beating, torturing and starving one's children for decades?

I thought I was unreasonably outraged by Suleman's actions, but I came here and discovered a disturbing number of people unhinged by hatred. Sickening.

[PMS]

Here's an idea. . .have that Madoff ponzi-scheme jerk pay for the raising of all 14 kids, plus college. Give Nadia visitation rights, but no financial help (If she can afford plastic surgery, then she can afford the operation to repair the herniated disc. She can then get off of disability and get a job). . .and for the love of Pete, give her a hysterectomy!!
And to hear that the publicist (formerly)represented her for free!?!?!? Are you kidding me?!?!?!? Here's a couple of questions; Where's my book deal? Where's my free facetime on TV? Oh wait. . . I don't have a child (nevermind an entire litter) because I can't afford one. I don't have a cat for the same reason! I'm not on public assistance. And, I'm not a selfish media-whore. I guess I answered my own questions.