Slasher mom mentally unfit

2005-02-15 10:40

Mckinney - A mother who cut off her baby's arms was ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial on murder charges.

The jury's verdict came after just minutes of deliberations Monday in Dena Schlosser's brief competency trial. Both the prosecution and the defence had requested that jurors find her incompetent so she could be treated at a mental hospital before standing trial.

Attorneys said they expect the judge to commit Schlosser to a state hospital on Tuesday. She could still stand trial if she is someday found competent.

Schlosser, 36, was charged with murder on November 22 after she told an emergency operator she had severed her 10-month-old daughter's arms. Police found Schlosser in the living room, covered in blood, still holding a knife and listening to a church hymn.

She was later diagnosed with manic depression.

In court, she sat slumped in her chair and stared straight ahead when the verdict was read, just as she did during most of the trial. Her wrists and ankles were shackled with black belts.

"We're just glad that the jury saw it our way," defence attorney David Haynes said. He said Schlosser was "overwhelmed, kind of numb and glad to have it over."

Earlier on Monday, a court-appointed psychiatrist testified that Schlosser suffers from manic-depression and may try to commit suicide. "She's stated over and over that she wishes she'd been allowed to go with her daughter," Dr David Self said.

Self, who evaluated Schlosser on Sunday, said that she was often incoherent and that her depression had "grossly worsened" since he examined her last month and recommended she be placed in a mental hospital.

Schlosser sobbed uncontrollably, whispered incoherently and repeated phrases that had nothing to do with his questions, Self said.

Schlosser's two surviving daughters, ages six and nine, were returned to their father this week after living in foster care since their mother's arrest.

- AP