LAMAR, Colo.—A woman who said she drowned her two children in a bathtub after receiving a sign from a spider is seeking permission to leave a state mental hospital’s grounds under staff supervision.
Rebekah Amaya, 36, appeared at a court hearing on the request this week. Attorneys were asked to submit legal briefs on the matter by Oct. 1.
Amaya was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2005 in the deaths of 5-month-old Gabriel Amaya and 4-year-old Grace Headlee in 2003. She was found with her wrists slashed after killing her children.
Psychiatrists testified that Amaya suffered major depression and psychotic symptoms with an onset of postpartum depression when she drowned her children, and a judge in 2005 ordered Amaya to spend an undetermined amount of time at Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo.
Amaya’s attorney Russell Zane said Friday that hospital officials have recommended an increase in privileges for Amaya. She would still receive daily treatment at the state hospital, he said.
District Attorney Mike Davidson was not available for comment Friday.
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Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain,
