Maria Darlene Gardner
Maria Darlene Gardner (AKA Maria Joseph) has not been having a good year. Her husband, Simeon Joseph, Jr. committed suicide by shooting himself in the head as he lay next to her in October of 2008. This princess had five young children and it must have been more than she could handle in her grieving state. Sure, wrangling five young children can be about as easy as herding chickens at times, but you don’t flambé the children because you are tired of them or want to send them to heaven. On January 28, 2008, while the four oldest children slept in her bed and the youngest child, 16-month-old Ashia, slept in her crib, this mom of the year poured gasoline around the bed and crib of her children and over their bodies, before setting it on fire.
That’s right, this gene pool winner poured gasoline on her sleeping children and then set them on fire. During a 911 call, a child can be heard screaming, “Why did you? . . . You killed them. Why did you kill them. I loved them.” The child was later identified as an 8-year-old boy, who went on to tell the 911 operators that “We were asleep. She dumped some oil on the ground and started it on fire.” And even though Gardner claimed to want to commit suicide, after setting the fire, she ran from the home, away from the fire and her burning children.
Take a look at Maria Darlene Gardner’s arrest affidavit (This is tough stuff, so be prepared – I cried for a long time)
Sadly, little Ashia did not survive the fire. She died of smoke inhalation and burns. The other four children suffered burns ranging in severity from second-degree burns to third degree burns over 80% of their bodies. They will endure years of painful skin grafts, physical therapy and most scarring of all, the knowledge that their scarred little bodies are 
the result of their mother’s actions.
The saddest part is that Maria Gardner had shown signs of mental deterioration from the time that her husband committed suicide until the night of the fire. To say that she did not handle the loss of her husband well would be an understatement. Colorado Springs detective Mareshah Hale testified that Gardner asked the funeral home after Joseph’s funeral if “the body could be preserved and stuffed.” “She said she would love to have him sit on the couch and have him hang out with her,” Detective Hale testified. Gardner would also leave notes at Joseph’s grave asking him to “wait for them.” Why wasn’t she reported to authorities as a danger to herself and her children before she tried to burn them?
In January, Gardner reached a plea deal for one count of fatal child abuse, and four counts of child abuse. At her sentencing hearing, a therapist read letters from two of her children. They wrote, “Tell my mom to be nice to us next time. If I see you again, please don’t hurt us.” And, “I want my mom in jail for 87 years. What she did was not nice, and she killed someone.” She was sentenced on February 20, 2009 to 85 years in prison. Gardner’s sister stated after the sentencing that she wished she had helped Gardner with her emotional problems sooner. Duh.
Editor’s Notes: The man with the dreadlocks pictured in the article is the late Simeon Joseph Jr, the father of the five children.
I just have a couple of things to add to the story.
I’d like to share some of the testimony of Stacy Braun, the psychologist who is counseling two of the children. She was a witness during Gardner’s presentencing hearing.
“Supreme in the beginning wanted to talk, talk, talk and tell the story over and over. After about a month, he shut down. It’s too painful for him – you can see it in his face,” Braun said.
Domenic believes the fire was his fault and “takes responsibility for the death of his baby sister.” He also has a bright scar across the length of his neck where his mother slashed him.
“He feels isolated and different.”
Supreme wrote a letter to the judge, which was read in court by Ms. Braun.
“…tell my mom to be nice to us next time. If I ever get to see you again, please don’t hurt me.”
Domenic also wrote a letter to the judge:
“I’m sad my sister is not with me. My right arm hurts and people look at me because I’m different.”
“I have nightmares almost every night and am afraid of the dark,” he wrote. “I’m scared my mom might come and do it again.”
What more can I add to that?
Does Maria Darlene Gardner Deserve Hell? Total Voters: 251
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55 Comments »
The arrest affidavit is horrible! The infant was charred?!? WTF?!!?
My brother is a Colorado Springs Police Officer who was the first to respond to this call. He entered the home beefore the fire department arrived and found the children and brought them outside. He also found the little girl too late. Trust me, he has been scarred and this woman deserves to be burned alive!
Wow, this is one of those hard ones. She was clearly disturbed and everyone knew about and did nothing about it. This is why I wish people wouldn’t mind their own business. Sometimes the only person that can do something is you. Tragic. All of those poor babies. I hope that someday they find someone that will love them and care for them like they deserve to be treated. Her husband sure was selfish in leaving her with five children but maybe if she would’ve followed his example those babies wouldn’t be scarred.
Not hard for me let the bitch burn worse than she burned her kids. FRY scag FRY
By the way, who is that man in the picture with dreadlocks and what does he have to do with this story?
I believe its the late husband, right?
That’s right Tress – Simeon Joseph Jr.
This is one terribly sad story. I am sure that it was pretty screwed up for her to have had her husband shoot himself while he was lying next to her but I still do not understand why she would choose to burn her children alive. Even better, why did she run from the fire instead of staying to burn alive herself? She is a coward, that is why. When I read the arrest affadavit, it made me sick to see that the youngest was identified as “charred”. Those children were her responsibility to protect and she made the decision to betray that trust. I cannot imagine how betrayed they feel. And the pain that they have to endure with recovering from burns? The fact that their own mother did that to them? Wow.
Yet again, it’s another moronic parent who decided that they are entitled to choose the fate of their children. I can admit that she probably was not sane, but it so does not excuse her actions in the least and if she was a good person, she would have made the decision to rise above her issues and concentrate on the fact that she had children to raise who needed her. She should have done that in memory of her late husband whom she claimed to have “loved” so much.
I say she needs to go to hell and burn. I hope she feels pain one hundred fold in comparison to what she caused her children. I don’t feel bad for her, she is evil.
I think dreadlocks is the father…..
It’s so sad. All those children with such unstable parents. And to have five children by 25 years of age?? It seems like the woman was unbalanced, overwhelmed and cowardly to boot.
I’m not sure about Hell for this. I think she must already be there…..
NO hell? Seriously?? She burned her children!! I dont give a shit how she felt before and I don’t give a shit how she feels now.
We’ve all had horrible things happen to and/or around us, but we don’t generally (please God, I pray we don’t) react as this bitch did. I cannot imagine harming my children for any reason (or using any excuse). Somebody get me a gallon of gasoline and a few minutes alone with her – I’ll bring my own matches.
Can I strike the match!?
OMG! I don’t care if the woman was nuts or in mourning or whatever…. let the bitch burn in hell……. let her skin sizzle with eternal agony and let her die a slow horrific death over and over again.
yep.
The husband woke up, looked across at her and realised he couldn’t chew his arm off.
lmao. I know I would have given it my best shot.
Too bad “hubby” here didn’t aim the gun right and get both of them!
Cheap bastard should have bought another bullet and taken her with him!
hmmmmm Well I would have shot myself if i had to lay with that everynight too, but now looking at this story from another angle… He killed himself while lying next to her… is it possible thats not entirely true? They should relook the case maybe she pulled the trigger.
Your right. I dont think i’d sleep through someone loading and cocking a gun while next to me in bed…maybe if she was ‘Sleeping Beauty”..but that sure as shit aint the case.
Wow….is it just me or do these stories become harder and harder to read? I have nothing for this one….it speaks for itself.
I voted no this time, because I believe she’s insane. However, I hope she never sees any of those kids again. She wanted her husband stuffed? Crazy, crazy woman.
What an absolutely terrible and awfull thing to do… she is completely NUTS!! Her kids will probably have to suffer for the rest of there lives while she’ll b in prison, getting fed on a daily basis and dreaming of her dead husband…. what a looser!!!!
This bitch failed at failing. How hard is it to kill a couple of kids? She couldn’t even do that right.
To hell with you trailer trash.
She did a terrible thing, yes, but she wasn’ thinking straight. You don’t know what a suicide right next to you can do. PTSD maximus.
I understand where you’re coming from Belle, and believe me, I’m still trying to work up some compassion for this woman. Part of my job as editor is to fact-check the stories our writers send in, and it was no different in Marie Gardner’s case. That meant digging into all kinds of articles about her, Simeon, and the family history. Plus I paid 12 bucks to access both her and Simeon’s court records (First time I’ve ever had to pay more than a token fee to a State for access court records). It’s pretty late, so I won’t get into detail now, but neither one of these people were going to win parent of the year, and Gardner has an interesting theft charge with some other included offenses which she had been arrested for on 12/10/2008 – just a month and a half before she tried to kill the kids. I’ll update the story with more complete information tomorrow.
Oooh. Now I’m curious. I haven’t voted yet. Can’t decide if she’s crazy enough to warrant a shred of my sympathy.
It’s the way she did it….so needlessly brutal. Not an ounce of a mother’s compassion to even kill them in a more humane way. That’s the evil I’m not sure I can overlook.
I guess I’ll continue to reserve judgement until I hear the rest……
It’s hard to figure Maria out – I’m going to see if I can talk to a reporter in Colorado about her. Those guys are very cool – I’ve asked a couple of writers for their take on a story and they’ve been more than happy to help out, as long as I kept everything off the record.
So emotional story. It is a truth that how a happy family will come to an end with a tragedic turns in a life. It is so sad for every reader to hear such an ending of a life.
Wow. How terrible. After my husband died, my family was always over. My brother moved in with me for a year and mom was over everyday for dinner. I had a 4 yr old at the time and I could never hurt him….he is all I have left. That time in my life was a ride on an emotional roller coaster and I don’t believe I would ever hurt my child, but I did have support from my family. I did drop a lot of weight and cried a lot. This story makes me appreciate my family even more for being there for me.
Why couldn’t she just stab or shoot the kids?
She chose her method of execution as far as I am concerned.
Naming a kid Supreme – sounds like trashy parents.
I was some place where the kid’s name was pronounced “Tie-Res” spelled “Tires” that kid is cursed………
While some have said that the system should have stepped in, someone should have said something….. the bottom line is that this POS had rights up until she grilled the children. If it were the other way around, (she killed herself, Hubby was alive) the situation may have been different – the system is more willing to strike when the issue points to a man as the problem than a woman. But even with that prejudice, “rights” prevail. Usually the scummier the POS, the more “rights” are used for abuse…
I didn’t want you to misunderstand me Fred, she is ultimately responsible for her actions and for the lives of the babies, but yet at the same time she had five children rather quickly which meant that her hormones were probably a little schzoid afterwards and then to have your husband commit suicide beside you would really send any person for a loop. You know there may have been other factors, they may have had an argument before he did it and she blamed herself. I am not saying that she is not responsible but I would like to go on record as saying that I would not like to have walked a mile in her shoes.
I would also like to say that I am extremely glad that she failed when she tried to bbq her children. They will have pain and surgery but most of them still get the chance at life.
Well, most of them will get a chance at life. Except for the one that died…
Was the husband alive during this, he killed himself in October 08, and she killed her kids in January 08, that would mean the kids died before him? or did he die in 07?
This is horrible I just don’t know what to say, it’s sick, how someone can just watch something be apart of something so horrible.
what a disgusting PIG!!! I hope she burns for this… her poor babies did not deserve that… the thing that gets me the most is “she wanted to commit suicide”, but instead “she sets her kids on fire and takes off”.. she should have just offed herself and done the world a favor.. now, we need to pay to house and feed this waste of life…
i hope those babies are placed in a loving home and never see their POS mom ever again!
Ashley, I had the same question about the time-line.
I hope Maria spends the rest of her life in jail. Third degree burns over 80% of their bodies? I’d rather die than have to suffer that kind of agonizing pain. If Maria was that depressed, she could have walked into any hospital ER and checked herself into a psychiatric unit and gotten medication and treatment. There’s no excuse for what she did. God, this story makes me ill.
Actually, I’ve tried getting put in the psych ward and it didn’t work in my case. A lot of the time, if you are sane enough to show up and say “lock me up” they think you’re too sane to be there.
If you say that you’re either suicidal or homicidal (or both), have a plan, and can’t guarantee your safety or the safety of others, you can get admitted into a psy ward. No doctor wants to risk the liability of not admitting someone making those threats. (Just being depressed doesn’t cut it with most insurance companies anymore.)
OT–Max, did you get the link I emailed you last week about the Iranian woman?
Yeah, I wasn’t quite there. I was riding a big hypomania until my blood pressure hit the gong, but I wasn’t about to start aiming my car down the wrong way of the intersection. They decided that while I was crazy, I wasn’t crazy enough to be admitted.
I guess Maria would’ve made the cut then.
ugh, wtf? i hate this bitch. reading the words of supreme and dominic wounded me. i wish i could hug them, tell them they are NOT different, and make them feel ok.
maria, i wish you were dead and burning.
There is nothing i can say that hasnt been already said…how sad.
I know this isnt the place to do such, but how do i add a picture to my profile?
go to gravatar.com
yay! thank you :)
Her kids should have spent less time screaming and more time helping with chores. Then things would have been different, obviously!
Not funny, fucktard.
Dear Stephen M.B. Dunkins,
Unfortunately we have no positions available for trolls at this time but we do have a need for a shitbag for which we find you highly suited.
that remark was funny!
Well Stephen, maybe if your mom had spent less time getting drunk and shooting dope while she was knocked up with you, you wouldn’t have grown up to be so mentally and socially challenged.
Stephen, I can appreciate satirical humor, but that’s tasteless. Come on.
Well yeah, all decent mothers light their kids on fire when they refuse to take out the garage. Its new trend.
Asshole!!!!
Stephen it’s too bad you weren’t chained to a bed in that house when this happened. That would have gave this story the perfect touch, don’t ya think?
Taking out the garage? Is that pysichally possible? I Like Grapes.
THIS IS A COMMENT BELOW OTHER COMMENTS.
What justice can you find when everyone in the story loses?? The woman needs to be permanently put away somewhere, or put out of her misery..
I was widowed at thirty years old, with four kids aged between four and ten and my jealous bully of a POS husband beat the living shit out of me the night before he hung himself at his garage… For the next umpteen months i lived on auto pilot, my kids were TRAUMATISED! It was a low point in my life but my kids were my world, almost eight years later we are a water tight unit, and i’m finding it real hard sympathising with this wench… I haven’t even read the affidavit, i cant bring myself to do so, i’m just not brave enough to know that much detail… ;( poor little souls, may god bless them…
I actually have to break out on this one and wonder what the courts are thinking through this whole process.
Here we have a woman who WAS a good mom and was in the process of raising 5 children when her husband and true love committed suicide right next to her, in an incredibly heinous and inconsiderate way. Suddenly she is alone with 5 children and sees no future, no end to the pain and no means of ever being a normal family again.
I’m not condoning at all what she did, however, my question is where the hell was her safety net? Why did the cemetary, the undertaker, someone report this woman’s fucked up state of mind and make a move to protect those children?
This is an example of a system that is fucked up because people refuse to get involved. We now have 4 little ones permanently scarred, 1 dead and a woman serving 85 years who will never receive any treatment for what she has gone through and will more than likely commit suicide while in prison as she constantly relives all of this trauma.
I do wish the best for these children, I only hope when a situation like this arises again the community is prepared to help out the mother instead of turning her a blind eye.