HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) — A defense lawyer has entered a not guilty plea on behalf of an Oregon woman accused of fatally strangling her 11-year-old daughter.
Kristina Buckley of the Portland suburb of Sherwood was arraigned Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court on one count of murder in the June 2 death of her daughter Cecelia.
Court documents say the 38-year-old woman told police she strangled her daughter because she wanted to protect her from pedophiles. The Oregonian says the woman’s husband, Patrick Buckley, told investigators his wife had a psychotic episode days before the girl was killed. He says he took his wife to a psychiatrist, who prescribed anti-psychotic medication.
The woman reportedly told police she tried to kill herself, but couldn’t. She was found holding a kitchen knife, with self-inflicted cuts to her wrists and neck.
