CENTENNIAL, Colo.-
A 53-year-old woman who claimed she received spiritual messages from geese before allegedly stabbing her toddler granddaughter to death was found not guilty by reason of insanity Friday.
Carol Lynn Pappas was ordered to be committed to the state mental health hospital in Pueblo, where officials will decide “when and if she will ever be released,” said Kathleen Walsh, spokeswoman for the district attorney.
A judge rendered the verdict after a brief trial without a jury. Pappas was charged with first-degree murder by a person in a position of trust and faced life in prison if convicted.
Authorities said Pappas called 911 on Oct. 29, 2005, from her son’s home and told a dispatcher, “I flipped … the baby was crying and I couldn’t handle it.”
When police arrived, they found Pappas holding a phone. Both her hands were stained with blood, and an 8-inch knife was found near the body of 21-month-old Madison Pappas. Madison had been stabbed numerous times.
Authorities said Pappas had told her son she had been receiving spiritual advice from geese flying over his house, where she was living.
Court records showed she had been admitted to hospitals for psychiatric care at least six times in 2005, including six weeks before the slaying.
