Las Vegas Mom Arraigned in Scissors Stabbing Death of Daughter
Danielle Slaughter's lawyer is concerned she is not mentally competent.
March 16, 2012— -- A Las Vegas woman who allegedly stabbed her 6-year-old daughter to death with a pair of scissors before running down the street shedding her own blood-stained clothing appeared in court for the first time today.
Danielle Slaughter, 27, was arrested Sunday after police were called to her home by Slaughter's boyfriend. Inside they found Slaughter's daughter, Kyla Franks, 6, stabbed to death. A pair of scissors was nearby.
"Do you understand the charge against you in this case?" Justice of the Peace Joe M. Bonaventure asked Slaughter through a closed circuit video system.
"Yes," she replied.
Police found Slaughter wandering outside on Sunday. She told officers the blood on her clothes was from the "lamb of God" and that her daughter had been speaking in "evil words" and had kicked and clawed her. Slaughter also told detectives she had felt an evil presence and had been unable to sleep after she began taking the caffeinated weight loss product Hydroxycut.
Despite not having any reported injuries, Slaughter was hospitalized and then booked into the Clark County Jail on Monday, where she is being held in supervised isolation.
Although she answered that she understood the murder charge against her, doubt has been cast on Slaughter's mental competence.
On Wednesday, she refused to leave her jail cell to attend her scheduled arraignment. Bonaventure ordered her to appear Friday and told officers that Slaughter should be brought forcibly if necessary.
Andrea Luem, Slaughter's public defense attorney, said outside of court she hadn't been able to have a meaningful discussion with her client about the charges and was concerned about her mental state, the Las Vegas Sun reported.
Friends and family of Slaughter, including her boyfriend, attended Wednesday and Friday's hearings.
When asked by a judge whether she would like the one-month extension her attorney requested between today's arraignment and her preliminary hearing, Slaughter chose the standard two weeks.
She is due back in court on March 29.
The Associated Press contributed to this report