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Insanity plea ends case against hostage taker
An Ashburn woman charged with six felonies linked to taking a Leesburg family hostage pleaded guilty by reason of insanity Nov. 26 in Loudoun Circuit Court.
Michele Davidson, 39, mother of four, entered the home of Dr. Chauncey Stokes of Leesburg on May 31 and held him and his wife hostage with a gun, according to court records.
Davidson, who was a nurse, blamed Stokes for causing complications during her caesarean section with son Grant, now 1 year old. Grant suffers from spastic quadriplegia, a type of cerebral palsy that may limit him from ever walking or talking.
Stokes and his wife testified at an earlier hearing that when Davidson entered their home May 31, she held a gun to her head and told the Stokeses she was going to kill herself.
Davidson's lawyer, Todd Sanders, said the night before the incident, Davidson had taken Valium to held calm her postpartum depression symptoms.
“She was hearing voices,” Sanders said. "She was clearly unable to control herself."
Before ruling to dismiss the three use of firearm charges and allowing Davidson to plead insanity to the remaining charges, Judge Thomas D. Horne asked Davidson if she had anything she'd like to say.
“On May 31, I suffered a psychotic breakdown,” Davidson read from a prepared statement written on loose-leaf paper.
“I've never hurt another human being in my life,” she said, adding that she only wanted to hurt herself. “Your honor, this has been an emotional experience for my family.”
Horne said there was enough evidence to prove that Davidson suffered from mental illness, which impaired her judgment May 31.
He commuted her sentence, putting her in the custody of a mental health center. A mental health examiner will determine how long Davidson will receive in-patient care and whether she will be allowed to leave the facility.
Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com
Good for Judge Horne. Common sense prevails!!!
Once again, Plowman goes after a woman/mother and makes it a "sensational case". Think he has his eye on higher positions in the State? God help us all!!
Posted by BTO
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