Expert Witness Blog
A Maryland state psychiatry expert witness believes Victoria Adele Sparrow knew what she was doing was wrong and is therefore guilty of first-degree murder when she poisoned her 3-year-old daughter and then tried to kill herself. Psychiatric experts – one employed by the state and the other hired by the defense – are set to testify on July 20 in Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court in Centreville. They will be the only witnesses, attorneys said. Sparrow, 43, waived her right to a jury trial Tuesday and agreed to let Judge Thomas G. Ross determine if she was “criminally responsible” for her actions inside her home on Dec. 18.
Defense attorney Peter S. O’Neill filed a motion earlier this year claiming his client was not fit to stand trial. He hired a medical expert who determined that Sparrow would be able to assist in her defense. That expert, however, did not believe Sparrow was sane at the time of the killing. Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney Lance Richardson said a state psychiatrist does not agree with the defense’s medical expert.
Excerpted from HometownAnnapolis.com.