Woman Kills Disabled Daughter, Attempts Suicide

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. -- A prosecutor says a Long Island woman charged with manslaughter in the death of her 8-year-old disabled daughter who was due to be a flower girl in a wedding fed the girl food she was allergic to and then tried to kill herself after leaving a note that said her daughter "should die."

Authorities say Veronica Cirella of Plainview was found Saturday lying near her daughter, Julie, with a cord around her neck.

The little girl, who suffered from cerebral palsy, was found hours before she was to have participated in a cousin's wedding.

Prosecutors said in a statement, "There was a certain protocol that should have been followed as far as giving care for the allergy" that Cirella didn't take.

Cirella was still in the Nassau University Medical Center on Monday afternoon. Her lawyer denies the accusations.

Cirella is due back in court Wednesday.