During the sentencing of her son on charges of rape and murder in connection, Catherine Osborn was blamed in part for the tragedy created when John Gardner raped and killed two local teenagers.
Osborn, who has avoided the media since her son’s arrest in February in the disappearance and murder of Poway teenager Chelsea King and subsequent arrest in the murder of Escondido teenager Amber Dubois, was named in the victim impact statements during her son’s sentencing Friday.
Brent King also used the sentencing to scold Gardner’s mother for knowing what her son was capable of and doing nothing to protect the community from her violent son.
He told Gardner that his mother harbored and indulged him and by doing so, put children at risk.
“Miss Osborn, you have Chelsea’s rape and murder and our pain on your soul,” Brent King said. “You have much to account for as a mother and as a member of our community.”
Chelsea’s mother Kelly King echoed her husband’s feelings.
“I have endlessly wondered about the mother who shaped you,” Kelly King said to Gardner.
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“She knew what you were capable of and did nothing,” she said. “She did not come forward when Amber went missing. She did not come forward when Chelsea was taken in her own neighborhood. She did nothing.”
”As a mother, I feel that she lacked the humanity and human decency to do the right thing to possibly keep Chelsea alive,” Kelly King said.
Osborn was involved in a confrontation with Amber Dubois' mother Carrie McGonigle outside the downtown jail earlier this week when McGonigle asked Osborn to give up her scheduled visitation with her son.
