Watch CBS News

Md. Woman Asserts Mental Illness In Grandmother's Slaying

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 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.