Mom admits endangering daughter during suicide attempt

A Coopersburg mom wept Monday as she admitted to a Lehigh County judge that she endangered her 18-year-old disabled daughter during a suicide attempt this year.

“I know what I’ve done is a serious situation,” said Sara Rhoads, 38. “I am very remorseful and very regretful and I wish I could take everything back. I miss my family.”

Rhoads, of Carriage Drive, pleaded guilty before Judge Anna-Kristie M. Marks to neglect of a care-dependent person, a felony. She’ll be sentenced in January. Under a plea agreement, Rhoads will serve her sentence in the county jail, not state prison.

Around 1:30 a.m. Jan. 2, Coopersburg police were called to 16 E. Station Ave., where they discovered Rhoads and her daughter in a vehicle in a closed, one-car garage with the vehicle’s engine running. Rhoads’ daughter suffers from cerebral palsy and autism and requires round-the-clock care, First Assistant District Attorney Steve Luksa said.

Rhoads had written three suicide notes and sent a boyfriend a series of “cryptic” texts, Luksa said. Police later learned that she bought a dryer vent and duct tape with the intent of poisoning herself and her daughter with carbon monoxide.

Both women were transported to St. Luke’s Hospital-Upper Bucks for treatment. Rhoads’ daughter has fully recovered, Luksa said, and is now living with a family member.

Rhoads’ case was initially earmarked for Team MISA, a unique Lehigh County pre-trial program for defendants suffering from mental illness and/ or substance abuse addiction, which could have resulted in Rhoads’ avoiding conviction. In the months after her arrest, however, Rhoads, failed to comply with program requirements and was no longer eligible

prior plea hearing also broke down after Rhoads refused to admit to the facts of the crime. She will remain in the county jail while awaiting sentencing.