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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — A Frederick County woman is pursuing a mental-illness defense in the fatal stabbing of her grandmother last December.
Twenty-year-old Hestina Harris pleaded not guilty and not criminally responsible at a court appearance Monday in Frederick. She is charged with first-degree murder in the Dec. 22 slaying of 67-year-old Lillie Morris at their home near Burkittsville.
Harris' public defender says he's awaiting results of a psychiatric evaluation of his client. She was found competent in January to participate in her defense.
Prosecutors say Morris was stabbed or cut 23 times with a kitchen knife. She was found dying on her front lawn.
Harris previously denied killing Morris. She told investigators she saw a masked man running from the house shortly after the attack.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
