An Orange County woman stabbed to death by her own son is being remembered as "Ms. Autism 9-1-1" because so many families reached out to her in an emergency.
Family members say 48-year-old Barbara Scheuer acquired that nickname because of her efforts to learn about the disorder that afflicted her 13-year-old son. She had recently earned a certificate in autism education from UCLA.
"People would call her at all hours," said Andy Ingram, who only in December had proposed and gotten engaged to Scheuer. "Their kid was freaking out and...she would just go."
Ingram, an Anaheim firefighter, was planning to start a business with his would-be wife. Now he's dealing with her loss and struggling with her son's incarceration.
Elly Watson, Scheuer's mother, shed tears as she said her grandson's actions last week were out of character. The teenager is by nature a kind, athletic and focused boy, she said.
Scheuer had worked hard to give him a normal life, Watson said.
When counselors told her that her youngest son would never talk, she didn't accept their diagnosis. It took time, but at age five, the boy was talking.
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"Look what she did, what she accomplished," Watson said. "I was proud of her, I am proud of her. I just wish she was here."
But now Watson's grandson sits in juvenile hall and it remains unclear why he killed his mother, who Ingram said wanted nothing more than to take care of her family.
"I know Barbara wanted to take care of her kids more than anything," he said.
Her family has set up a GoFundMe page to pay for her funeral expenses.
Note that GoFundMe deducts 7.9 percent of all funds raised in the form of platform and payment processing charges.
