McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — Dena Schlosser didn't know right from wrong when she killed her 10-month-old baby by cutting off the child's arms, and she wasn't given the medical help she needed before the killing, a psychiatrist testified Tuesday at her murder trial.
Schlosser, 37, was arrested in November 2004 when police found her soaked in blood, holding a knife and listening to a hymn as her baby, Margaret, known as Maggie, lay dying in her crib. Schlosser also had cut herself deeply in one shoulder.
People close to Schlosser had missed obvious signs of severe mental illness, Dr. William Reid testified.
"Everything I've seen indicates to me that she did not know what she was doing was wrong, and she did not know right from wrong," said Reid, the final defense witness.
The defense argues that Schlosser was insane when Maggie was killed and needs hospitalization. The prosecution holds that while she may have mental illness, she knew what she was doing was wrong and should be sent to prison for life.