Woman admits killing daughter

[Guest guest]

" The prosecutor agreed Yesenia Quevedo, 29, was legally insane on Dec.

13, 2003, when she gave Xiomara Tocalino some of her antidepressant in

a cup of tea and then suffocated her. "

" Judge Jerome Nadler asked if she understood the proceedings and she

said she did. She told him the medication she was taking 'doesn't

inhibit my ability to understand.' "

It also didn't inhibit her ability to understand that a drug can be

used a weapon against her defenseless daughter either. Yes, what a

shame a parent caught using a drug as a weapon against her defenseless

daughter gets off the hook and isn't even tried and rightly found

guilty for her crime. Quevedo had just been released from psychiatric

detention just before she did this. This tells me that she rightly

viewed her prescription drug as a weapon used against her, as she had

no doubt been force fed drugs during her psychiatric detention. So she

choose to use it as a weapon of assualt against her defenseless

daughter. Two wrongs don't make a right and we certainly shouldn't

have any sympathy for anybody who force feeds a drug to anybody under

any circumstances. The point that needs to be made here is that this

kind of force feeding of psychiatric drugs is done to people every day

in this country.

According to the article, attending UCSC " mentally overwhelmed "

Quevedo. If you can't suceed in life, then you can always destroy your

own life, or the lives of others.

-Rick

Looks like the system got another one.

What a shame

Charlie

July 2, 2005

Woman admits killing daughter

By CATHY SMITH

Sentinel staff writer

SAN JOSE — A former UC Santa Cruz student admitted Friday to killing

her 4-year-old daughter but said she was insane when she did it.

The prosecutor agreed Yesenia Quevedo, 29, was legally insane on

Dec. 13, 2003, when she gave Xiomara Tocalino some of her

antidepressant in a cup of tea and then suffocated her.

Quevedo will be sent to a locked state mental health facility,

perhaps for life, prosecutor Dan Nishigaya said, though she will be

able to petition the court for release. She returns to court Aug. 11

for a report outlining which facility would best suit her.

Two independent psychiatrists deemed her insane, Nishigaya said, and

those diagnoses plus extensive investigation convinced him as well.

He said Quevedo still suffers from paranoid beliefs that people are

out to harm her.

" We still think she's a danger, " Nishigaya said. " Basically, we have

to put our faith in the state mental health system. "

Quevedo appeared composed and lucid in the San courtroom,

shackled and in jail clothing, looking thin with her hair long and

pulled back in a pony tail.

Judge Jerome Nadler asked if she understood the proceedings and she

said she did. She told him the medication she was taking " doesn't

inhibit my ability to understand. "

Quevedo was an anthropology student living at UCSC when she and her

daughter went at Quevedo's grandmother's home in San to

celebrate the child's 4th birthday the next day.

Quevedo had been released from psychiatric care at Stanford Medical

Center a few days before and had been diagnosed with major

depression with psychotic tendencies. She told police she began

feeling depressed more than two years earlier, when her daughter was

about 6 months old. She said she attending UCSC " mentally

overwhelmed " her.

Quevedo sought psychiatric care in September 2003, but only went to

a few appointments, a Los Gatos psychiatrist told police. In October

2003, she tried to kill herself, believing that " truckers " and

others were following her and trying to harm her and her daughter.

The child's father, Tocalino, was in court Friday with

Quevedo's family. At the time of her arrest, he told police she was

a good mother. He said the pair had dated for six years and broke up

in 2002, but remained friends. He said she began " acting crazy "

after the pair split.

The family's attorney, Dan Barton of Palo Alto, said the case was

the most heartbreaking he has handled in 16 years of criminal

defense work. He said Quevedo was doing " OK. "

" She understands this is the right place for her to be, " he

said. " Yesenia never would have hurt her child if she wasn't insane.

It was unthinkable. And I don't think a moment goes by that she

doesn't want to hold her baby. "

Barton predicted that she would get out one day. Quevedo pleaded

guilty to second degree murder, and then pleaded not guilty by

reason of insanity.

[Guest guest]

I we really want to prosicute the responsible parties lets get the

scientists the marketing people and everyone else that has lied to

the public about these drugs. This mother was just as much a victim

as was her daughter.

Charlie

> " The prosecutor agreed Yesenia Quevedo, 29, was legally insane on

Dec.

> 13, 2003, when she gave Xiomara Tocalino some of her

antidepressant in

> a cup of tea and then suffocated her. "

>

> " Judge Jerome Nadler asked if she understood the proceedings and

she

> said she did. She told him the medication she was taking 'doesn't

> inhibit my ability to understand.' "

>

> It also didn't inhibit her ability to understand that a drug can be

> used a weapon against her defenseless daughter either. Yes, what a

> shame a parent caught using a drug as a weapon against her

defenseless

> daughter gets off the hook and isn't even tried and rightly found

> guilty for her crime. Quevedo had just been released from

psychiatric

> detention just before she did this. This tells me that she rightly

> viewed her prescription drug as a weapon used against her, as she

had

> no doubt been force fed drugs during her psychiatric detention. So

she

> choose to use it as a weapon of assualt against her defenseless

> daughter. Two wrongs don't make a right and we certainly shouldn't

> have any sympathy for anybody who force feeds a drug to anybody

under

> any circumstances. The point that needs to be made here is that

this

> kind of force feeding of psychiatric drugs is done to people every

day

> in this country.

>

> According to the article, attending UCSC " mentally overwhelmed "

> Quevedo. If you can't suceed in life, then you can always destroy

your

> own life, or the lives of others.

>

> -Rick

>

> Looks like the system got another one.

>

> What a shame

> Charlie

>

> July 2, 2005

>

> Woman admits killing daughter

> By CATHY SMITH

> Sentinel staff writer

> SAN JOSE — A former UC Santa Cruz student admitted Friday to

killing

> her 4-year-old daughter but said she was insane when she did it.

>

> The prosecutor agreed Yesenia Quevedo, 29, was legally insane on

> Dec. 13, 2003, when she gave Xiomara Tocalino some of her

> antidepressant in a cup of tea and then suffocated her.

>

> Quevedo will be sent to a locked state mental health facility,

> perhaps for life, prosecutor Dan Nishigaya said, though she will be

> able to petition the court for release. She returns to court Aug.

11

> for a report outlining which facility would best suit her.

>

> Two independent psychiatrists deemed her insane, Nishigaya said,

and

> those diagnoses plus extensive investigation convinced him as well.

> He said Quevedo still suffers from paranoid beliefs that people are

> out to harm her.

>

> " We still think she's a danger, " Nishigaya said. " Basically, we

have

> to put our faith in the state mental health system. "

>

> Quevedo appeared composed and lucid in the San courtroom,

> shackled and in jail clothing, looking thin with her hair long and

> pulled back in a pony tail.

>

> Judge Jerome Nadler asked if she understood the proceedings and she

> said she did. She told him the medication she was taking " doesn't

> inhibit my ability to understand. "

>

> Quevedo was an anthropology student living at UCSC when she and her

> daughter went at Quevedo's grandmother's home in San to

> celebrate the child's 4th birthday the next day.

>

> Quevedo had been released from psychiatric care at Stanford Medical

> Center a few days before and had been diagnosed with major

> depression with psychotic tendencies. She told police she began

> feeling depressed more than two years earlier, when her daughter

was

> about 6 months old. She said she attending UCSC " mentally

> overwhelmed " her.

>

> Quevedo sought psychiatric care in September 2003, but only went to

> a few appointments, a Los Gatos psychiatrist told police. In

October

> 2003, she tried to kill herself, believing that " truckers " and

> others were following her and trying to harm her and her daughter.

>

> The child's father, Tocalino, was in court Friday with

> Quevedo's family. At the time of her arrest, he told police she was

> a good mother. He said the pair had dated for six years and broke

up

> in 2002, but remained friends. He said she began " acting crazy "

> after the pair split.

>

> The family's attorney, Dan Barton of Palo Alto, said the case was

> the most heartbreaking he has handled in 16 years of criminal

> defense work. He said Quevedo was doing " OK. "

>

> " She understands this is the right place for her to be, " he

> said. " Yesenia never would have hurt her child if she wasn't

insane.

> It was unthinkable. And I don't think a moment goes by that she

> doesn't want to hold her baby. "

>

> Barton predicted that she would get out one day. Quevedo pleaded

> guilty to second degree murder, and then pleaded not guilty by

> reason of insanity.