A mother accused of killing her five-year-old daughter near a park because she thought the girl was “evil” has a history of mental illness, her lawyer said.
Melissa Towne (37) was charged with murder after her daughter Nichole’s death and is being held on a $15 million (€15 million) bond.
She appeared in court on Tuesday, crying during a brief hearing.
Towne’s court-appointed lawyer, James Stafford, told reporters after the hearing she has been diagnosed as a schizophrenic and institutionalised at least nine times due to mental illness.
“There’s no doubt there’s some dark demons haunting her,” he said.
Towne is accused of taking the girl to a wooded area near a park in the Houston suburb of Tomball on Sunday.
She then allegedly made her get on her knees before cutting her throat with a knife.
The girl screamed and fought before Towne put a bin bag over her head, according to papers.
Towne is accused of strangling her daughter for 30-45 minutes and saying she “wanted to end (her daughter’s) life because she was an evil child and did not want to deal with her anymore”, documents added.
The woman then allegedly took her daughter’s body to a hospital in Tomball, where a nurse found the girl inside a mesh wash bag on the floor of the passenger side of Towne’s car.
In a statement, Child Protective Services said it is also investigating Nichole’s death and that Towne has a history with the agency – though it could not give more details due to confidentiality rules.
Towne has three other children aged two to 18 who are safe and had been living with other relatives, the agency said.
