Police: Woman accused of killing newborn ate brain
SAN
ANTONIO A woman charged with murdering her 3 1/2-week-old son used a
knife and two swords to dismember the child and ate parts of his body,
including his brain, before stabbing herself in the torso and slicing
her own throat, police said Monday.
Otty Sanchez, 33, is charged with capital murder in the death of her
infant son, Scott Wesley Buchholtz-Sanchez. She was recovering from her
wounds at a hospital, and was being held on $1 million bail.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the early Sunday morning
attack occurred a week after the child's father moved out. Otty
Sanchez's sister and her sister's two children, ages 5 and 7, were in
the house, but none were harmed.
Otty Sanchez's aunt, Gloria Sanchez, said her niece had been "in and
out" of a psychiatric ward, and that the hospital called several months
ago looking to check up on her. She did not elaborate on the nature of
her niece's health problems.
"Otty didn't mean to do that. She was not in her right mind," a sobbing
Gloria Sanchez told The Associated Press on Monday by phone. She said
her family was devastated.
McManus, who appeared uncomfortable as he addressed reporters, said
Sanchez apparently ate the child's brain and some other body parts. She
also decapitated the infant, tore off his face and chewed off three of
his toes before stabbing herself.
"It's too heinous for me to describe it any further," McManus said.
McManus described the crime scene as so grisly that police officers
barely spoke to each other while looking through the house. Parts of
the child were missing, including pieces that Sanchez allegedly ate.
"At this particular scene you could have heard a pin drop," McManus
said. "No one was speaking. It was about as somber as it could have
been."
Officers called to Sanchez's house at about 5 a.m. Sunday found her
sitting on the couch screaming "I killed my baby! I killed my baby!"
McManus said. They found the boy's body in a bedroom.
Police said Sanchez said the devil told her to kill her son and that she was hearing voices.
"It was a spontaneous utterance," McManus said.
Police said Sanchez did not have an attorney, and they declined to identify family members who might speak on her behalf.
No one answered the door Monday at Sanchez's one-story home, where the
blinds were shut. A hopscotch pattern and red hearts were drawn on the
walk leading up to the house.
Neighbor Luis Yanez, 23, said his kids went to school with one of the
small children who lived at the house. He said he often saw a woman
playing outside with the children but didn't know whether it was Otty.
"Why would you do that to your baby?" said Yanez, a tire technician. "It brings chills to you. They can't defend themselves."
Authorities said Sanchez and her sister took turns watching the baby
Sunday morning, and that the boy was placed in Sanchez's care at about
1:30 a.m. Her sister discovered what happened about three hours later
and called police.
Investigators are looking into whether postpartum depression could have
played a role in the attack, McManus said. Authorities said they were
looking into Sanchez's mental health history to see if there was
anything "significant" but did not elaborate.
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