Woman accused of cutting off baby's arms deemed ready for trial

[Guest guest]

" CPS officials have said she exhibited symptoms of psychosis but said she

improved with medication and psychiatric help. CPS closed the investigation

in

August after determining she was stable. "

AND THEN SHE CUT HER BABY'S ARMS OFF.

The Associated Press State & Local Wire

These materials may not be republished without the express

written consent of The Associated Press

May 24, 2005, Tuesday, BC cycle

SECTION: State and Regional

LENGTH: 511 words

HEADLINE: Woman accused of cutting off baby's arms deemed ready for trial

BYLINE: By LIZ AUSTIN, Associated Press Writer

DATELINE: DALLAS

BODY:

A woman accused of killing her 10-month-old daughter by cutting off her arms

was found mentally competent to stand trial on capital murder charges, her

attorney said Tuesday.

Dena Schlosser, who was diagnosed with manic depression after she was

arrested, was taken to North Texas State Hospital in Vernon in February

after a

jury ruled she was not competent for trial.

Schlosser, 36, was charged with capital murder in November after she told a

911 operator she had severed baby Margaret's arms. Police found Schlosser in

the

living room, covered in blood, still holding a knife and listening to a

church

hymn.

Also Tuesday, Schlosser's husband filed for divorce and sole custody of

their

surviving 6- and 9-year-old daughters, said his attorney, Shapiro.

The

children were placed in foster care when their mother was arrested, but

Schlosser regained custody in January.

A doctor at the psychiatric hospital sent the judge a letter Thursday saying

Schlosser was now ready to stand trial, said Donna Haynes, a legal assistant

for

defense attorney Haynes. She said their office received a copy of the

letter Monday.

The prosecutor's office didn't immediately return a telephone call seeking

comment.

Schlosser will be moved from the state hospital to the Collin County Jail

within the next week or two, Haynes said. A trial date has not been

set,

and prosecutors have not announced whether they will seek the death penalty.

The defense team has begun tests to determine whether she was sane on the

day

Margaret died, and Haynes said the results will shape the case he

presents.

Haynes said his client's condition vastly improved after doctors

switched her medications and increased the dosage " considerably. " At her

February hearing, a jail psychiatrist testified Schlosser said she saw

babies'

faces coming out of her cell wall and heard them calling " mommy, mommy. "

" She seems much better, much more coherent and much more responsive in

conversations and not such a monotone flat voice, " he said. " Just, you know,

like a normal person instead of being like a person who's mentally ill. "

He acknowledged that the divorce filing could set her back but said he hopes

it does not cause her to " lapse all the way back into incompetence. "

Shapiro said the timing of the divorce filing was a coincidence.

" has known from the beginning that he would never be able to live with

her and the children ever again, regardless of the outcome of everything, "

Shapiro said. " He has to do what is necessary to protect the children and to

give them the best opportunity to somehow lead as normal a life as

possible. "

Dena Schlosser attempted suicide shortly after Margaret's birth in January

2004, and she was hospitalized for postpartum depression as part of a Child

Protective Services neglect investigation.

CPS officials have said she exhibited symptoms of psychosis but said she

improved with medication and psychiatric help. CPS closed the investigation

in

August after determining she was stable.

LOAD-DATE: May 25, 2005