For Volvo Lovers Only
New '95 940 Sedan - Final Production Closeout
careful not to hit Chelsea's head
on the steel frame of the bed.
She heard "this gurgling sound"
and then Chelsea's stomach con-
tents came up. She did chest com-
pressions.
Linda dialed 911. She said she
told the operator, "Something has
happened to my daughter."
Linda carried Chelsea to the liv-
ing room. She waited there for
help.
Chelsea was still alive when
emergency services arrived. She
was taken "by an expensive heli-
copter ride" to an area hospital.
Chelsea would be on life sup-
port for some time. But soon after
finding her daughter, Linda al-
ready knew "instinctively that her
spirit was gone," she said.
She is angry about much that
happened at the hospital, espe-
cially the fact that physicians con-
tinued to try and save her
daughter long after Linda knew
Chelsea had left this world.
"They even put a pint of blood
in her because her blood pressure
was going down," she said. "Is that
stupid? A pint of blood costs a lot
of money."
ix days before Linda's arrest
she was on the portable
telephone in the apartment
of a friend with whom she
stayed on and off since Chelsea's
death.
Things hadn't worked out with
her job downtown, and she had va-
cated the Canton apartment be-
cause of too many bad memories.
For a time, Linda lived with a
sister. Then she moved in with the
friend. She desperately wanted
her own place, but the issue was
money. Deeply in debt (some of
it the result of Chelsea's emer-
gency medical care), she had few
employment prospects.
She was eager to work, perhaps
as a receptionist; she likes "to
make people feel comfortable." Yet
she was anxious at the thought of
being in an office again.
The voice on the other end of
the line told Ms. Solomon the res-
idence she wanted to rent was for
adults only.
"I don't have children anymore,"
she said.
It was terribly difficult those
first days after Chelsea's death.
In February, Linda tried to kill
herself with an overdose of pills.
Weeks later she went to a mental
hospital, where she said she re-
ceived plenty of medication, but
no therapy. Linda hated it so
much it forced her to put on a fa-
cade of normality — weeks after
her child's death. "I had to pull my-
self together just to get out of the
place."
While in the hospital, Linda
tried to think of volunteer projects
to do once she was released. She
made drawings, including one
showing a clown with a huge
mouth and a red hat. The image
came to her in a flash, and Linda
believed it reprz,sents communi-
cation from beyond.
S
"Chelsea Joy connected" she
wrote in red and yellow crayon be-
side the drawing.
She continued to feel guilty for
the abuse and for not spending
enough time with her daughter.
Last month, she was still think-
ing often of death.
"There's the guilt I feel for prob-
ably causing Chelsea a lot of pain,"
she said. "Probably that's why I
think a lot about death."
She was having difficulty sleep-
ing.
The last apartment in which
Linda Solomon was staying, a
complex in Southfield, was qui-
et. The friend with whom she lived
had a collection of Buddha figures
and Chinese art. Chew treats for
the owner's dog sat on a table in
the dining room, and New Age
music played throughout.
There were huge trees outside
the large window that brushed
against the side of the balcony.
Once, a squirrel made a jump and
missed his target. Linda appeared
terrified for his safety.
She also found a small spider
on the wall and carried it outside.
"He's got such a tiny little life and
it's stupid to kill him," she said.
If only things could have been
different — if only somebody had
been there to help, she constant-
ly said. "People cannot be chained
only to responsibility."
And would Chelsea be alive to-
day if such help had been avail-
able?
"Possibly," she said.
Linda's attorney would not com-
ment on the cause of Chelsea's
death. He said the prosecution's
case was built solely on circum-
stantial evidence.
But at least one report is cer-
tain to give the prosecution a
boost: the Wayne County coroner
has ruled Chelsea's death a homi-
cide.
Before her arrest, Linda
lamented life. It was lonely, she
said, and nothing could have been
worse than this past Mother's Day
without Chelsea.
Her memories are starting to
slip away, too. "I don't remember
what she (Chelsea) looked like."
She wept constantly when
speaking of her daughter. "I still
turn around to look for her and
she's not there," she said. "I'd just
about give up anything if she
hadn't gone away."
Still, Linda was not ready to
give up on the future. She thought
about returning one day to school.
She could become a teacher and
study psychology, maybe even be-
come a child psychologist. "But I
have a long way to go."
Because of the hardships
throughout her life, Linda re-
gards herself "a small
child...emotionally." She dreams
of having a husband and more
children. How she misses hav-
ing children around, she said. In
fact, more than lust about any-
thing in the world, she loves be-
ing a mother. ❑
•
• The 940 has a longer wheelbase
for a smoother ride.
• Antilock Brakes and Dual Airbags
• Side Impact Protection (a 1997
safety requirement)
• Limited Slip Differential for
better winter traction
• Lower maintenance cost
• 4 year or 50,000 mile factory
warranty
• Volvo On Call roadside assistance
$21,995
Price includes: All standard equipment (ABS, Dual Airbags, Cruise
Control, Power Windows & Locks, Power Mirrors) and nordic package.
Destination charge, tax, title are additional.
or
36 Zero
Month
LEASE
Capitalized Cost Reduction
$34992
tax
Due at Delivery: Acquisition fee $495, security deposit
$375.00, first payment, all taxes, license, 15 cents per
mile over 36,000, purchase option 13,540.00 total of
payments = monthly payment X 36.
CONVENIENT
HOURS
DWYER
Open 'til 9 p.m.
on Mondays & Thursdays;
and
Saturdays until 4 p.m.
ATOLVO/SUBARU
AND SONS
Maple Rd. West of Haggerty
624-0400
35 years
with
VOLVO.
Out 2nd year
on Maple Road