Posted on Wed, Sep. 24, 2008
By Mari A. Schaefer
The Montgomery County mother who purchased an assault rifle for her teenage son, who was plotting a Columbine-style attack at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, pleaded guilty in Norristown yesterday to endangering the welfare of children.
A sentencing date for Michele Cossey, 47, of Plymouth Township, will be set after a presentencing report done by the Adult Probation and Parole Department is completed, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
"She wanted to accept responsibility for the mistakes she made," defense attorney Timothy Woodward said about the guilty plea.
In October, a classmate of then-14-year-old Dillon Cossey's told authorities of his friend's plot to stage an attack at Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Dillon Cossey was arrested when police found an arsenal of weapons - including a 9mm assault rifle purchased by his mother - in his bedroom. No ammunition was ever found, and some officials said no attack was imminent.
Dillon Cossey told authorities he felt bullied at school. His mother was home-schooling him at the time of his arrest.
He was sentenced in December to seven years in a juvenile-treatment facility near Pittsburgh. Cossey will remain in the facility until he turns 21, unless the court decides he has been rehabilitated.
At her son's sentencing, Montgomery County Court Judge Paul Tressler had harsh words for Michele Cossey. He said the relationship she had with her son was unhealthy. He told the teen that while his mother loved him, she was not a very good mother.
Woodward said his client had had supervised visits with her son. He said Michele Cossey hoped to move on with her life and eventually be reunited with her son.
Frank Cossey, 56, Dillon Cossey's father, is under house arrest for failing to disclose a 1981 manslaughter conviction in Oklahoma when he attempted to buy a .22-caliber rifle for his son.
Contact staff writer Mari A. Schaefer at 610-892-9149 or mschaefer@phillynews.com.
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