A Texas woman accused of stabbing and strangling her 5-year-old daughter has a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia, because she “doesn’t want to be with her anymore,” her lawyers say. said on Tuesday.
Melissa Towne, 37, was crying hours after she appeared in court in Houston on Tuesday and was ordered to post $15 million bail, according to the Associated Press.
She is accused of taking her daughter Nicole into the woods near Spring Creek Park in Houston’s Tomball neighborhood on Sunday. said to have ordered
Texas woman holds $15 million bond after strangling, stabbing 5-year-old daughter to death
Towne then continued to cover the girl’s head with a garbage bag after the girl began to resist, strangling Nicole for 30 to 45 minutes.
A police affidavit obtained by the Associated Press said Towne “stated that she was an evil child and wanted to end[his]life because she didn’t want anything to do with her anymore.”
But after a court hearing on Tuesday, court-appointed attorney James Stafford said Towne had been admitted to a mental hospital at least nine times and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, The Associated Press reported.
Stafford reportedly said, “There are definitely some dark demons haunting her.
On Monday, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Towne drove to a local hospital’s emergency room and staff found her daughter “partially wrapped in a plastic and mesh bag” inside a Jeep SUV. He announced that he had discovered
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Gonzalez said Nicole had laceration marks on his neck and “possible ligature marks” and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
“Town admitted to killing his daughter,” he said.
Police reportedly found the knife while searching the town.
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A spokesperson for Child Protective Services told The Associated Press that the agency has a history with Towne, but declined to elaborate. There were three of us and we lived with our family.
A GoFundMe page has been created for Nicole’s family.
The Associated Press contributed to this report