BANGOR, Maine — The woman accused of murdering her nearly 2½-year-old daughter did not appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions when she smothered the girl, a forensic psychologist testified Friday at the the Penobscot Judicial Center.
“Her rational decision-making skills were severely compromised,” Charles L. Robinson of Manchester said on the fifth day of the jury-waived trial of Leanna Norris, 25, of Auburn, formerly of Stetson.
“She was not perceiving reality” when she killed the girl on June 23, 2013, and, then, attempted suicide, he said.
Norris is charged with intentional or knowing murder. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but has not denied killing her child.
Norris repeatedly admitted to investigators that on the evening of June 23, 2013, she gave her daughter three times the normal dose of an antihistamine, put duct tape over her mouth and nose, then smothered her with a blanket, according to trial testimony.
The mother then took the rest of the antihistamine and swallowed 200 Advil pills in a botched suicide attempt.
Superior Court Justice Ann Murray on Friday recessed the trial until Nov. 13 because of scheduling conflicts next week. During that time, Norris will decide whether she will take the stand in her own defense or not, defense attorney Martha Harris of Bangor said.
To be found not criminally responsible for the death of Loh Melody Grenda, the defense must prove that Norris suffered from an abnormal condition of the mind and lacked the substantial capacity to understand or appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct when she smothered the girl.
Under cross examination by Assistant Attorney General Leann Zainea, Robinson testified that while Norris’ actions the evening she killed the toddler met the clinical definition of psychotic behavior, it did not meet the definition required to find her actions psychotic under the law.
In her opening statement, Harris said that Norris suffered from severe depression, social anxiety disorder and a mood disorder. The defense has said that Norris planned to kill herself first, then decided she could not leave her daughter alone in what Norris believed to be “a horrible, horrible world.”
The prosecution has maintained that Norris’ actions were triggered by a breakup with the girl’s father, Michael Grenda, 27, of Auburn, who threatened to get full custody of the child. Zainea and co-counsel Deb Cashman have presented evidence that Norris did not want her daughter to be raised by another woman.
Dr. Ann LeBlanc, director of the state forensic service, is expected to be called as a rebuttal witness for the prosecution when the trial reconvenes. She is expected to tell Murray that Norris was able to tell right from wrong when she killed her daughter. LeBlanc’s testimony will be followed by closing arguments.
The judge is expected to take the case under advisement and deliver her verdict later in the year.
If convicted of murder, Norris faces between 25 years and life in prison. She would be committed to Riverview Psychiatric Hospital in Augusta if Murray finds her not guilty by reason of insanity.
Norris has been held without bail at the Penobscot County Jail since her arrest July 3, 2013, when she was released from a psychiatric ward at a Rockport hospital.
To reach a suicide prevention hot line, call 888-568-1112 or 800-273-TALK (8255), or visit www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.