Jeana (DP)
Former Member
Woman who pleaded not guilty to drowning children will not stand trial
LAMAR, Colo. (AP) — A woman who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to drowning her daughter and infant son will not stand trial, a judge said.
The announcement Monday came after prosecutors told District Judge Douglas Tallman they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Rebekah Amaya, 33, was legally sane when the children were drowned.
Amaya pleaded not guilty in March to two counts of first-degee murder for drowning her daughter, Grace Headlee, 4, and son, Gabriel Amaya, 5 months, in a bathtub in the family's home in October 2003. Her husband found the children, then discovered his wife unconscious with superficial knife wounds on her wrist, police said.
Investigators said Amaya told them she killed the children after receiving a sign from a spider that crawled across her hand.
Amaya, who has been jailed without bond since her arrest, is scheduled to return to court Jan. 31. She faces commitment at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo for an indeterminate amount of time.
Her attorney did not immediately return a call. Prosecutor Mike Davidson declined to comment, citing a gag order.
www.courttv.com
LAMAR, Colo. (AP) — A woman who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to drowning her daughter and infant son will not stand trial, a judge said.
The announcement Monday came after prosecutors told District Judge Douglas Tallman they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Rebekah Amaya, 33, was legally sane when the children were drowned.
Amaya pleaded not guilty in March to two counts of first-degee murder for drowning her daughter, Grace Headlee, 4, and son, Gabriel Amaya, 5 months, in a bathtub in the family's home in October 2003. Her husband found the children, then discovered his wife unconscious with superficial knife wounds on her wrist, police said.
Investigators said Amaya told them she killed the children after receiving a sign from a spider that crawled across her hand.
Amaya, who has been jailed without bond since her arrest, is scheduled to return to court Jan. 31. She faces commitment at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo for an indeterminate amount of time.
Her attorney did not immediately return a call. Prosecutor Mike Davidson declined to comment, citing a gag order.
www.courttv.com