Mother accused of fatally stabbing her son, who reportedly told police she was helping him fulfill a wish to die
A mother accused of fatally stabbing her son, who reportedly told police she was helping him fulfill a wish to die before turning 18, has pleaded guilty to torture and second-degree murder.
On October 22, 2025, 40-year-old Katie Austin Lee, entered the pleas during an appearance in Ottawa County Circuit Court.
The murder happened February 21, 2025 at an apartment complex in Holland, Michigan. Her son, 17-year-old Austin Dean Pikaart, would have turned 18 the next day.
“She advised her son asked her to help him stop breathing because he did not want to turn 18,” a detective told a judge in an earlier court hearing.
When police arrived at Bay Pointe Apartments, Lee had blood on her clothes and was holding a large kitchen knife “up by her shoulder as if to threaten” officers.
During Wednesday’s court appearance, Lee also pleaded guilty to a charge of resisting and obstructing police.
Lee told dispatchers that she had used a knife to cut him after he passed out and that there were cuts to his throat and to his arm.
As part of the plea, there is a sentence agreement that has Lee facing a minimum of 60 years and a maximum term of 90 years in prison.
Lee remains held in the Ottawa County Jail. Sentencing has been set for mid-January 2026.
