Katlyn Kinateder, the mother accused of killing her toddler last year, changed her plea as the case moves closer to trial. She had pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect in August 2016 to a charge of first-degree intentional homicide, but changed that plea to no contest last week.
However, the case is still scheduled to go to trial in December to determine if Kinateder is mentally responsible for the crime. During a pre-trial conference last April, a forensic psychologist who reviewed the case argued the mental effects of marijuana — more so than mental health issues — may have led Kinateder to suffocate her 2-year-old son with a plastic bag and hide his body in a closet.
If a judge rules that Kinateder was not mentally responsible for the crime, she will be sentenced to supervision, either institutionalized or in the community, according to Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski. If found mentally responsible for the crime, she faces life in prison without the chance for parole.
Kinateder called police on Aug. 4 last year and said she had killed her 2-year-old son.
When police arrived, they found Kinateder standing in the main stairway leading to her upper-level apartment. She allegedly came at officers with a large butcher knife, ignoring commands to drop the knife and get down on the ground. Officers yelling at Kinateder to put down her knife can be heard in the call audio. She eventually dropped the knife and got on the ground, but became aggressive when officers went to arrest her, and a stun gun was deployed to subdue Kinateder.
After Kinateder was taken into custody, officers entered the apartment and found the lifeless child in a cardboard box that had two other boxes stacked on top of it in a hallway closet.
In an interview with police, Kinateder allegedly admitted to killing the boy by placing a plastic grocery bag over his head and suffocating him.
http://www.sheboyganpress.com/story...oddler-changes-plea-trial-continue/680808001/
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