Dena Schlosser

Dena Schlosser (born 1969) is a Plano, Texas woman who, on November 22, 2004, amputated the arms of her eleven-month-old daughter, Margaret, with a knife. Plano police responded to a 9-1-1 call made by concerned workers at a local day care center who had spoken to Schlosser earlier that day. The 9-1-1 operator testified that Schlosser confessed to her and that the gospel song, "He Touched Me" played in the background. When police arrived, they saw Schlosser covered in blood and calmly sitting holding the knife singing Christian hymns.^[1]

Schlosser had been investigated earlier that year by the Texas Child Protective Services, who had decided she did not pose a risk to her children.^[2] The baby died the following day^[2]; her other two daughters were not harmed.

Psychiatrist David Self testified that Schlosser told him that she had interpreted a television news story about a boy being mauled by a lion as a sign of the coming apocalypse and that she had heard God commanding her to remove her baby's arm and then her own.^[1] The attack was later described as "religious frenzy".^[3] Self determined that Dena Schlosser suffered from postpartum psychosis^[4]. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to the North Texas State Hospital and ordered to stay there until she is deemed to no longer be a threat to herself or others.^[3] Coincidentally, she was a roommate of Andrea Yates, the Houston, Texas woman who had drowned her five children in a bathtub, which she says was done to protect them from Satan.^[5]

John Schlosser, Dena Schlosser's husband, later filed for divorce. As part of the divorce settlement, Dena Schlosser was prohibited from having any contact with either her ex-husband or her daughters again.

On November 6, 2008, it was announced that Dena Schlosser would shortly be released into outpatient care. The order requires her to see a psychiatrist once a week, take medication, be on physician-approved birth control, and not have any unsupervised contact with children.^[6]

In April 2010, it was reported that Dena Schlosser has been recommitted after firefighters from Richardson, Texas saw her walking on a street at 2:00 a.m. Her attorney, David Haynes, said that he felt the judge made the correct decision.^[7]

In the media

Dena Schlosser was briefly seen in the 2005 documentary, The God Who Wasn't There, which is critical of Christianity. Schlosser is cited by atheist writer/director Brian Flemming, who was raised in a fundamentalist Christian home, as one of a series of people who committed and or incited others to commit crimes under the pretext of them being divinely inspired. Scholsser's caption reads, "Devout Christian; Cut her baby's arms off, for God". Charles Manson, Pat Robertson, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (the authors of the Left Behind series of books), and the victims of the Branch Davidian church fire in Waco, Texas (described as "86 crispy victims of similar apocalyptic literature") are also shown.^[8]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Washington Post (2006-02-21). "Mother Says God Told Her to Cut Baby". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/20/AR2006022001197.html. Retrieved 2007-03-19. 
2. ^ ^{a b} MSNBC News (2004-11-23). "Mother confesses to severing baby's arms". http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6561617. Retrieved 2007-03-19. 
3. ^ ^{a b} OTB News (2006-04-08). "Dena Schlosser Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity". http://news.outsidethebeltway.com/2006/04/dena-schlosser-not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity. Retrieved 2007-03-19. 
4. ^ Dallas News (2007-04-07). "Schlosser case ends with insanity ruling". http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/040806dnmetschlosser.108ec24a.html. Retrieved 2009-08-05. 
5. ^ Dallas Morning News (2006-04-08). "Schlosser and Yates find solace in friendship". http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/100806dnmetdenafriend.36e291a.html. Retrieved 2007-03-19. 
6. ^ Dallas Morning News (2008-11-08). "Dena Schlosser, Plano mom who cut off baby's arms, moving to outpatient care". http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/110808dnmetschlosser.18ca635cc.html. Retrieved 2008-11-11. 
7. ^ Mom Who Cut Off Baby's Arms Back in Hospital | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth
8. ^ Brian Flemming. The God Who Wasn't There (DVD). Beyond Belief Media. 

Persondata
Name	Schlosser, Dena
Alternative names	Baby Killer
Short description
Date of birth	1969
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death