Mother found 'not guilty' after fatally stabbing her 5-year-old son
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C.- A woman charged with fatally stabbing her 5-year-old son was declared 'not guilty' but legally insane on Monday.
A judge committed Ebony Olowu, 37, to a state forensic hospital after she was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
In August of 2017, Victor Olowu called the police to report his wife had stabbed him and told him that he "had to die." At the time, the family was living on-campus at the University of North Carolina in the family housing community.
When police arrived, they found the couple's 5-year-old son fatally stabbed underneath the dining table in the back and chest.
Police also noticed blood coming out from under the bathroom door and heard Ebony Olowu speaking incoherently inside. When officers broke down the door, the woman was found slumped over with severe cuts on her wrists.
Ebony was charged with murder, attempted murder, felony child abuse, and assault.
Several mental health experts testified at a court hearing, concluding that Olowu could not understand her actions due to a major depressive disorder and psychosis from past traumas.
Trending News
Oluwu told psychiatrists that God told her to kill her son and husband so they could go to heaven, officials say.
Orange County assistant District Attorney, Jeff Nieman, said that given the "unanimous opinion" of the health experts, an argument could not be made contrary to their opinions.
Ebony Olowu has been ordered by the judge to stay at Central Regional Hospital in Raleigh, N.C. until a court determines that she is "no longer mentally ill or a danger to herself."