An Orleans Parish Criminal District Court judge on Friday blocked some evidence about the mental state of an alleged killer from being introduced at her trial, which is set for Monday.
Judge Robin Pittman said the defense for Chelsea Thornton, 28, may not introduce evidence about her mental competency, hospitalization and forced medication after her arrest in the killing of her two young children in a Gert Town apartment in 2012.
Thornton has entered a dual plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. Her defense attorney, Lionel “Lon” Burns, has said he will try to prove that she was insane when she shot her son and drowned her girl in a bathtub.
Thornton is charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Pittman’s order does not prevent Burns from trying to show that Thornton was insane at the time of the crime. It bars evidence only about her mental state after her arrest.