Woman not guilty by reason of insanity for killing children

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio judge has agreed a woman was insane when she killed her two children and has ordered her institutionalized at a mental health facility.

Thirty-one-year-old Claudena Helton was charged with aggravated murder for fatally shooting 8-year-old daughter Khmorra and 6-year-old son Kaiden in May 2017 in the southeast Ohio city of Dayton.

The Dayton Daily News reports a Montgomery County judge accepted Helton’s insanity plea at a hearing Friday and ordered a review in six months.

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Helton’s attorney said two psychological reports concluded she was not guilty by reason of insanity and a third said she was competent to stand trial.

Neighbors told police Helton was in a trance-like state after the slayings.

Helton told police she killed her children to “save them from the evils of the world.”

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Information from: Dayton Daily News, http://www.daytondailynews.com