Centennial – A woman who stabbed her young granddaughter 62 times with a butcher knife after receiving “spiritual messages” from geese flying overhead will be sentenced to the state mental hospital.
Carol Lynn Pappas, 53, was facing a jury trial in the death of her 21-month-old granddaughter, Madison, in October 2005, and had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
But today, Karen Pearson, an assistant district attorney for Arapahoe County, said that after a prosecution expert examined Pappas and her history, “the people are conceding insanity.”
The announcement came two months after the state mental hospital in Pueblo also found Pappas to be insane.
A hearing is scheduled for Feb 23, at which time a judge will make the ruling official.
“We all agree that Ms. Pappas is not guilty by reason of insanity,” defense attorney James O’Connor said, adding that the February hearing is merely a formality.
Pappas has a history of mental illness and has been diagnosed as manic-depressive and bipolar.
She is charged with killing Madison Pappas on Oct. 29, 2005 at her son’s house in Aurora. Pappas had told her son she was receiving the spiritual messages about eight months before she stabbed the girl.
According to police, Pappas said she killed her granddaughter minutes after the girl’s father left for work. When police and firefighters arrived in response to her 911 call, Pappas unlocked the door with blood on both hands.
A police officer said the girl was found facedown on a bed with holes in her shirt. Next to her was a butcher knife about 8 inches long.
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
