Closed — final outcome reached

Plano Mother Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

👤 Dena Schlosser 📍 Plano, Texas, USA 🗓 2004 ⚖️ Capital murder

Case summary

In November 2004, Schlosser fatally injured her 10-month-old daughter, Margaret, at the family's Plano home during what psychiatrists testified was a religious psychotic episode. Her first trial ended in a hung jury. At a 2006 bench trial, a judge found her not guilty by reason of insanity, accepting testimony that she suffered from postpartum psychosis. She was committed to North Texas State Hospital, and in 2008 a judge approved her release to court-supervised outpatient treatment. Her case, like Yates', prompted discussion of how Texas courts handle severe postpartum mental illness.

Mental-health context

Schlosser had been diagnosed with postpartum psychosis, including a documented psychotic episode and child-welfare involvement in the months after her daughter's birth; psychiatric testimony found she could not distinguish right from wrong at the time of the offense.

Status / outcome

Not guilty by reason of insanity (2006); committed to state hospital; released to supervised outpatient care in 2008

Sources

This summary is compiled from public reporting. Allegations are not findings of fact, and every accused person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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