Should Mom Who Killed 3 Kids, Pled Insanity, Get Released from Hospital?

Aug. 19, 2010 — -- A woman who was found not guilty by reason of insanity after claiming the Virgin Mary told her to drown her three young daughters nearly 30 years ago is healed enough to be released into the free world, according to medical professionals.

Dianne Evers, 53, was present in a Tavares, Fla., courtroom last week when doctors who have been caring for her at the Florida State Hospital testified that she is healthy and no longer suffers from hallucinations stemming from schizophrenia.

"We honestly believe that she's the best she'll be," Shirley Pace, a social worker who has cared for Evers, told the court, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Amy Louch, a psychologist who cares for Evers, testified that her patient is a rare "success story" and now can handle stressful situations without "drama," according to the paper. Louch and Pace also testified that Evers' hallucinations are controlled with counseling, coping strategies and drugs.

Evers admitted to drowning her three daughters -- 4-year-old twins Carrie and Sherri and 2-year-old Mandy -- on New Year's Day 1980 in the family's bathtub in Leesburg, Fla.

According to news reports at the time of her arrest and trial, Evers claimed the voice of the Virgin Mary told her to kill her daughters while family members played chess in a nearby room.

Then 25, Evers was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1981 and was committed to the state hospital in Chattahoochee, Fla. She has been there ever since.