- Lori Lee Donlay pleaded guilty to manslaughter for stabbing her mother in Taylorsville in 2020.
- Her plea considered her mental illness and reduced her charge from murder to manslaughter, dismissing a charge for aggravated robbery.
- Third District Judge Kristine Johnson ordered a treatment assessment and ruled her sentencing could be delayed based on her treatments.
SALT LAKE CITY — A woman pleaded guilty to killing her elderly mother in Taylorsville, but the plea considered that she was affected by a mental condition at the time.
Lori Lee Donlay, 63, was charged in November 2020 with murder and accused of stabbing her mother, 84-year-old Carol Donlay, to death. Police received a report of a woman in cardiac arrest but found her instead deceased with multiple stab wounds.
As part of Lori Donlay's plea deal, the murder charge was reduced and she pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a second-degree felony. Prosecutors also agreed to let her plead guilty with a mental illness and dismiss a charge for aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony.
About 4 a.m. on Oct. 23, 2020, another family member was alerted by Carol Donlay's doctor that her pacemaker was not working. She went to the home and confronted Lori Donlay after finding the mother covered in blankets and blood under the blankets.
Lori Donlay also had her mother's purse inside her purse, and the purse had blood on it, according to charging documents. Charges say she told police her mother was often accusing her of stealing from her, so she had been staying in her room.
When questioned about the blood on her shirt, Donlay replied, "If it's my mom's blood, then so be it," and later stated, "I think she is in a better place," and "it's the end," the charges state.
Related:
Utah woman charged with murder in death of elderly mother
A Taylorsville woman who family members say has struggled with mental illness was charged Friday with stabbing her elderly mother to death.According to the plea statement, Lori Donlay had been taking medication following a schizophrenia diagnosis in 2011; but in 2020, she had not filled her prescription since February, was quarantined at home with her mother and was unable to receive mental health treatment.
Attorneys wrote in the statement that Lori Donlay had auditory hallucinations on the day her mother was stabbed, which said her mother was being pulled to hell and if she killed her mother, then she would instead go to heaven.
The statement said she stabbed her mother in the heart and then arranged her mother's bed nicely, placing a sentimental quilt over her.
When initially talking to police, Lori Donlay shared delusional thoughts, the statement says. Doctors at the Salt Lake County Jail have since helped her stabilize, and her symptoms are now being treated with medication.
Third District Judge Kristine Johnson accepted Lori Donlay's plea on July 14 and ruled that she did have a mental condition when the crime occurred and could benefit from more supervision and treatment.
The judge ordered the Utah Department of Health and Human Services to provide a treatment assessment and ordered that the sentencing in the case could be deferred for up to one year in order for her to receive recommended treatment.
Johnson sent an order requesting that the Utah Department of Health and Human Services provide a treatment assessment associated with the plea, which will be available before a review hearing on Aug. 25. At that hearing, they may set her sentencing date or another review hearing.
