The devastating story of a mother that allegedly threw her 19-month-old baby in the Hudson River to get back at her husband when she was angry with him may have somewhat of a happy ending after all.
New York Daily News reports that the 34-year-old mother Devi Silvia now has a New York criminal defense attorney that is using the insanity defense so that she can avoid a conviction of attempted murder. Lawyers say that Devi Silvia was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and that the woman was legally insane at the time the crime was committed.
Now it seems that Devi Silvia and her husband are on good terms, as the man reportedly posted her $10,000 bail and left the Manhattan courthouse holding her hand. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Stone says that a further investigation will determine if Devi Silvia's case is truly a criminal matter or a mental health matter.
The Manhattan judge released Devi Silvia despite objections from prosecutors. However, her release from the psych ward at Elmhurst Hospital is on the condition that she attends a 5-day-a-week outpatient psychiatric program that starts this week. The couple will continue living together on the Upper West Side of New York, but their two children have moved to India to live with their father's sister, including baby Jessica who is now healthy after being rescued from being tossed in the Hudson River.
Devi Silvia and her New York criminal defense attorney may still have a great deal of work to go through when it comes to the preparation of arguments for the insanity defense, but it certainly seems like the woman is now on the right track. See our Related Resources to learn more information about how the insanity defense is used.
Related Resources:
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The Insanity Defense Among the States (FindLaw)
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Mom Using Insanity Defense After Tossing Baby in Hudson River (FindLaw's New York Criminal Law Blog)
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