Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys say a mental disorder kept a pregnant South Carolina woman from knowing the difference between right and wrong at the time she's accused of driving her minivan into the Atlantic Ocean with her children inside.
Defense attorneys for 32-year-old Ebony Wilkerson filed a motion of intent to use an insanity defense. Public Defender James Purdy told the Daytona Beach News-Journal (http://bit.ly/1lUdfh5) Monday that experts will testify the 32-year-old from North Charleston, South Carolina, had a mental disease or defect in March, when she drove into the surf off Daytona Beach in Florida.
Purdy says the motion doesn't necessarily mean they'll use insanity as a defense, adding that not guilty remains the "number one" priority.
According to the motion, attorneys expect to prove Wilkerson had schizophrenia and a psychotic disorder.
___
Information from: Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal, http://www.news-journalonline.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.








