Texas lawyer defending child killer: "We Texans are not wackos"

[Cyrus]

DALLAS (AP) -- When a mother admitted killing her baby daughter by severing the child's arms this week, she joined a high-profile list of Texas women with histories of mental illness who have killed their children in gruesome fashion.

The state has had at least four similar cases in recent years. Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the family's Houston bathtub in 2001.

Deanna Laney bashed her three sons' skulls with rocks last year, killing two and maiming a toddler. She said God told her to do it.

A mother from suburban Dallas drowned her daughters last fall, and a woman in Brownsville is accused of helping her common-law husband behead her three children.

"Texas seems to be a lightning rod," said George Parnham, the Houston attorney who defended Yates. "I don't necessarily go with the idea that we're wackos down here."

Dena Schlosser, 35, was charged with capital murder Monday after calmly telling a 911 operator that she had cut off the arms of 11-month-old Margaret. Police found Schlosser sitting in her living room, covered in blood, a church hymn playing in the background.

CNN Report


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[Topflight]

[ QUOTE ]
Police found Schlosser sitting in her living room, covered in blood, a church hymn playing in the background.


[/ QUOTE ]

That would freak me out.

[TylerD]

I think finding a dead child with their arms cut off would freak me out a bit more.

[Topflight]

Just slightly

[River2Pair]

transcript of 911 call, and she's perfectly calm throughout:

911--Hello, this is Steve with Plano 911.

Dena--Uh hmm.

911--Hello, ma'am.

Dena--Hi.

911-- I've already got paramedics on the way, I need to get some information from you, while they're on the way, okay?

Dena--Uh hmm.

911--Okay, exactly what happened?

Dena--I cut her arms off.

911--You cut her arms off?

Dena--Uh hmm.

911--Okay, and how old...is this your baby?

Dena--Yeah.

911--And it's a girl?

Dena--Uh hmm.

911--Is she conscious?

Dena--No.

911--Is she breathing?

Dena--No.

911--Can you get as close to the baby as possible?

Dena--She's in the other room.

911--Do you want to help the baby, ma'am?

Dena--Yeah ...

911--OK, then I need you to bring the baby by the phone so we can help you, ma'am.

Dena--OK.

The call soon disconnects.

[dr. klopek]

Didn't any of these people read the Bible?
When God tells you to kill your son/daughter, you mull it over a bit, grab the knife/rock/whatever, act like you're gonna do it, and then God stops you because you've passed the test. If he never tries to stop you, it ain't God.