Dena Schlosser
Encyclopedia
Dena Schlosser is a Plano
, Texas
woman who, on November 22, 2004, amputated
the arms of her eleven-month-old daughter, Margaret, with a knife. Plano police
responded to a 9-1-1
call made by concerned workers at a local day care center who had spoken to Schlosser earlier that day. The 9-1-1 operator testified that Schlosser confessed to her and that the gospel
song, "He Touched Me
" played in the background. When police arrived, they saw Schlosser covered in blood
and calmly sitting holding the knife singing Christian
hymns
.
Schlosser had been investigated earlier that year by the Texas Child Protective Services, who had decided she did not pose a risk to her children. The baby died the following day; her other two daughters were not harmed.
Psychiatrist
David Self testified that Schlosser told him that she had interpreted a television
news story about a boy being mauled by a lion
as a sign of the coming apocalypse
and that she had heard God
commanding her to remove her baby's arm and then her own. The attack was later described as "religious frenzy". Self determined that Dena Schlosser suffered from postpartum psychosis
. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to the North Texas State Hospital
and ordered to stay there until she is deemed to no longer be a threat to herself or others. Coincidentally, she was a roommate of Andrea Yates
, the Houston, Texas
woman who had drowned her five children in a bathtub, which she says was done to protect them from Satan
.
John Schlosser, Dena Schlosser's husband, later filed for divorce
. As part of the divorce settlement, Dena Schlosser was prohibited from having any contact with either her ex-husband or her daughters again.
On November 6, 2008, it was announced that Dena Schlosser would shortly be released into outpatient care. The order requires her to see a psychiatrist once a week, take medication, be on physician-approved birth control
, and not have any unsupervised contact with children.
In April 2010, it was reported that Dena Schlosser has been recommitted after firefighters
from Richardson
, Texas saw her walking on a street at 2:00 a.m. Her attorney, David Haynes, said that he felt the judge made the correct decision.
, The God Who Wasn't There
, which is critical of Christianity
. Schlosser is cited by atheist
writer
/director
Brian Flemming
, who was raised in a fundamentalist Christian home, as one of a series of people who committed and or incited others to commit crimes under the pretext of them being divinely
inspired
. Scholsser's caption reads, "Devout Christian; Cut her baby's arms off, for God". Charles Manson
, Pat Robertson
, Tim LaHaye
and Jerry B. Jenkins
(the authors of the Left Behind
series of books), and the victims of the Branch Davidian church fire
in Waco
, Texas (described as "86 crispy victims of similar apocalyptic literature") are also shown.
Plano, Texas
Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located mostly within Collin County. The city's population was 259,841 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas and the 71st most populous city in the United States. Plano is located within the metropolitan area commonly referred to as...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
woman who, on November 22, 2004, amputated
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
the arms of her eleven-month-old daughter, Margaret, with a knife. Plano police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
responded to a 9-1-1
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
call made by concerned workers at a local day care center who had spoken to Schlosser earlier that day. The 9-1-1 operator testified that Schlosser confessed to her and that the gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
song, "He Touched Me
He Touched Me
He Touched Me is a 1972 gospel music album by Elvis Presley. It earned Presley his second of three Grammy Awards. It was his third and final studio gospel album, and the most contemporary of the three. The album was certified Gold on 3/27/1992 and Platinum on 7/15/1999 by the RIAA.-Track listing:#...
" played in the background. When police arrived, they saw Schlosser covered in blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
and calmly sitting holding the knife singing Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
hymns
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
.
Schlosser had been investigated earlier that year by the Texas Child Protective Services, who had decided she did not pose a risk to her children. The baby died the following day; her other two daughters were not harmed.
Psychiatrist
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
David Self testified that Schlosser told him that she had interpreted a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
news story about a boy being mauled by a lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
as a sign of the coming apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
and that she had heard God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
commanding her to remove her baby's arm and then her own. The attack was later described as "religious frenzy". Self determined that Dena Schlosser suffered from postpartum psychosis
Postpartum psychosis
Postpartum psychosis is a term that covers a group of mental illnesses with the sudden onset of psychotic symptoms following childbirth. In this group there are at least a dozen organic psychoses, which are described under another heading "organic pre- and postpartum psychoses"...
. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to the North Texas State Hospital
North Texas State Hospital
The North Texas State Hospital is an in-patient mental health facility owned by the State of Texas and under the Texas Department of State Health Services.Its two campuses in Wichita Falls and Vernon.-Wichita Falls Campus:...
and ordered to stay there until she is deemed to no longer be a threat to herself or others. Coincidentally, she was a roommate of Andrea Yates
Andrea Yates
Andrea Yates is a former Houston, Texas resident who killed her five children on June 20, 2001 by drowning them in the bathtub in her house. She had been suffering for some time with very severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis...
, the Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
woman who had drowned her five children in a bathtub, which she says was done to protect them from Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
.
John Schlosser, Dena Schlosser's husband, later filed for divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
. As part of the divorce settlement, Dena Schlosser was prohibited from having any contact with either her ex-husband or her daughters again.
On November 6, 2008, it was announced that Dena Schlosser would shortly be released into outpatient care. The order requires her to see a psychiatrist once a week, take medication, be on physician-approved birth control
Contraception
Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
, and not have any unsupervised contact with children.
In April 2010, it was reported that Dena Schlosser has been recommitted after firefighters
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
from Richardson
Richardson, Texas
Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 99,223. In 2011 the population was estimated to be 107,684. Richardson is an affluent inner suburb of Dallas and home of the Telecom Corridor with a high...
, Texas saw her walking on a street at 2:00 a.m. Her attorney, David Haynes, said that he felt the judge made the correct decision.
In the media
Dena Schlosser was briefly seen in the 2005 documentaryDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, The God Who Wasn't There
The God Who Wasn't There
The God Who Wasn't There is a 2005 independent documentary written and directed by Brian Flemming. The documentary questions the existence of Jesus, examining evidence that supports the Christ myth theory against the existence of a historical Jesus, as well as other aspects of Christianity.- Jesus...
, which is critical of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. Schlosser is cited by atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
writer
Screenwriting
Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is a freelance profession....
/director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Brian Flemming
Brian Flemming
Brian Flemming is an American film director and playwright.- Early career :Flemming was born and raised in California's San Fernando Valley, and studied English at the University of California, Irvine, graduating in 1998...
, who was raised in a fundamentalist Christian home, as one of a series of people who committed and or incited others to commit crimes under the pretext of them being divinely
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
inspired
Divine Inspiration
Divine Inspiration is a British music group that formed in 2002. The group consists of singer Sarah-Jane Scott, DJ Paul Crawley, David Lewin and Lee Robinson. They have had two singles that charted in the United Kingdom. Their first release, "The Way " peaked at number five in the UK Singles Chart...
. Scholsser's caption reads, "Devout Christian; Cut her baby's arms off, for God". Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
, Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
, Tim LaHaye
Tim LaHaye
Timothy F. LaHaye is an American evangelical Christian minister, author, and speaker. He is best known for the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins. He has written over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction.-Early life:LaHaye was born in Detroit,...
and Jerry B. Jenkins
Jerry B. Jenkins
Jerry Bruce Jenkins is an American novelist and biographer. He is best known as co-author of the Left Behind series of books with Tim LaHaye, Jenkins has written over 150 books, including romance novels, mysteries, and children's adventures, as well as non-fiction...
(the authors of the Left Behind
Left Behind (series)
Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
series of books), and the victims of the Branch Davidian church fire
Waco Siege
The Waco siege began on February 28, 1993, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located east-northeast of Waco,...
in Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, Texas (described as "86 crispy victims of similar apocalyptic literature") are also shown.