Attorney: Jail psychiatrist says Texas mom accused of decapitating baby competent for trial

Attorney: Jail says Texas mom competent for trial

SAN ANTONIO — The attorney for a Texas mother who allegedly told authorities the devil made her kill and mutilate her 3-week-old son said Thursday that a jail psychiatrist believes his client is mentally competent to stand trial.

A judge will consider that opinion at a November competency hearing for Otty Sanchez, 33, and make a final decision, said Ed Camara, Sanchez’s attorney.

The San Antonio woman is accused of decapitating and dismembering Scott Wesley Buccholz-Sanchez and eating parts if his body in a bedroom at her sister’s house in July. Police say swords were used in the attack.

Camara said a jailhouse evaluation indicates Sanchez is functional and mentally aware because of medication she is taking. But he said the report also suggests Sanchez, who is charged with capital murder, was not mentally stable at the time of the killing.

Camara said she likely will plead not guilty for reasons of mental illness.

“It was pretty clear … that she was mentally ill at the time,” Camara said of the report’s findings.

Camara said the court would not allow him to provide a copy of the evaluation. The office of Bexar County Magistrate Judge Andrew Carruthers, who ordered the evaluation, referred questions to attorneys.

An autopsy report obtained Thursday shows Sanchez’s son was nearly completely decapitated. The baby also was missing his ears, portions of his toes and fingers, other body parts and some internal organs.

Medical examiners requested additional forensic consultation for “possible bite marks,” according to the autopsy.

Camara said Sanchez had a history of mental illness and had been taking citalopram, an antidepressent, but had to stop after becoming pregnant. The infant’s father has said Sanchez suffered postpartum depression and that she told him she was schizophrenic a week before the slaying.

Camara said he’s learned Sanchez spent six weeks at a state mental hospital in Austin last summer. She went there after police removed her from a drug store where she had been wandering for eight hours without purchasing anything, Camara said.

Sanchez remains in Bexar County Jail on $1 million bond. Camara said she is aware of the charges she is facing but does not discuss the crime with him.

“I don’t think she really understands what’s happening yet,” Camara said. “I don’t think she’s come to grips with it.”

Authorities responded to a a bloody scene July 26 after Sanchez’s sister found her in the middle of the night and called police. On a tape of the 911 call, Sanchez can be heard screaming, “I didn’t mean to do it. He told me to!”

Other Texas mothers accused of killing their children have been found competent to stand trial. Andrea Yates was found innocent by reason of insanity in 2006 for drowning her five children in suburban Houston. Dena Schlosser was also found not guilty by reason of insanity for cutting off her 10-month-old daughter’s arms with a kitchen knife.