REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) - A judge says a Redwood City woman charged with plotting to kill her family, including the use of a 10-pound dumbbell to attack her children, is not guilty by reason of insanity.
Prosecutor Steve Wagstaffe says 50-year-old Philomena Brown pleaded no contest Tuesday to attempted murder and felony assault in exchange for a deal calling for the district attorney's office to concur with three doctors who determined she was insane at the time of the crime.
The San Jose Mercury News says San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Lisa Novak then ruled Brown was not guilty by reason of insanity and set a Dec. 8 hearing to consider state mental health department placement.
Brown hit her 23-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son with the dumbbell in June and allegedly tried to poison her husband.
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