Inside the tortured minds of moms who did the unthinkable

This week it was revealed that killer mom Susan Smith – who murdered her two children in 1994 – had broken prison rules by callously discussing her case with a filmmaker.

The day before, Patrick Clancy – the husband of a nurse who strangled her three children while suffering postpartum depression – revealed their haunting phone call on the day of the murder, and insisted she wasn’t a ‘monster’.

Now, in a new book Killer Moms: True Stories, Amanda R Woomer has lifted the lid on what drives a mother to commit murder, examining some of the most notorious cases of these almost unthinkable crimes.

But what happened to these women after they were sentenced, and where are they now?

Rachel David

In August 1978, Rachel David walked on to the balcony of her 11th-floor hotel room in Salt Lake City and either pushed or persuaded her seven children to, one by one, jump to their deaths.

She then followed them, as horrified morning commuters looked on helplessly.

The 1978 murder-suicide is perhaps even more shocking when you consider that one of the children – 15-year-old Rachel (named after her mother) – survived the 275 foot fall, albeit with horrific injuries.

Now confined to a wheelchair, she still believes the wild claims that led to the deaths of her entire family that day.

Born Margit Brigitta Eriksson, Rachel’s trouble arguably began when she met the young and charismatic Charles Bruce Longo at Brigham Young University, Utah, in 1961. 

She was baptized into the Mormon church, the pair married the following year, and they had four children in rapid succession.

In the next few years, Longo’s self-belief grew increasingly extreme – and he started to claim that he was a combination of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.

‘Unsurprisingly,’ writes Woomer in the book, ‘Longo and the rest of his family were excommunicated from the Church of Latterday Saints in 1969.’

But his ministry continued. ‘A small group of followers broke away from the Mormon church and stood by him. In 1970, he legally changed his name along with other members of his family: Longo was now known as Immanuel David (to showcase his supposed lineage from the House of David), Margit became Rachel.’

The couple had three more children, and the family of nine would hop from hotel to hotel, eventually settling in a three-room suite on the 11th floor of the International Dunes Hotel in Salt Lake City.

‘Even though David wasn’t working,’ writes Woomer, ‘the family was somehow able to afford the $90-a-day hotel room, which they would pay for with a $100 bill each morning.’

At the same time, the FBI had begun to watch David and his followers, some of whom were eventually convicted of international wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion.

Their world came crumbling down in the summer of 1978, after David drove to Emigration Canyon, ran a hose from the engine to the body of a borrowed truck and killed himself by carbon monoxide poisoning.

‘Most investigators suspected his ego was too large for him to allow himself to be arrested and sent to jail, while his followers believed he knew he would return to Earth just one week later.’

It appears Rachel couldn’t wait that long. Three days later, she was seen gathering her children on the balcony of the hotel.

‘Multiple eyewitnesses report that the older children stacked chairs one on top of the other to help them climb over the balcony’s railing before willingly jumping to their deaths,’ writes Woomer.

‘The younger children, it would seem, were not so willing to rejoin their father. There are stories of the younger children struggling to break away from their mother as she lifted them over the railing.

‘One eyewitness claimed the only resistance he witnessed was from the younger ones, who clung to the railing just long enough for Rachel to pry their hands off the bar and push them herself.’

The 38-year-old mother then climbed over the railing and jumped.

Incredibly, 15-year-old Rachel somehow survived, though she had extensive injuries and both her legs were broken.

‘Since 1978, Rachel has tried to follow her father’s suicide by attempting to kill herself on several occasions over the years,’ writes Woomer.

‘As of 2000, she was still part of what is now known as “The Family of David,” with about a dozen members who all believe they are reincarnated biblical figures.

‘Rachel herself still holds to the idea that her father is God and will one day return to Earth.’

In a 2000 article in the Spokane Spokesman, republished by the Cult Education Institute, it was reported that she was living with her uncle in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, and couldn’t remember much of what happened in 1978. 

“‘It’s all hazy,’ she said from her wheelchair… Her speech is halting and she seems frustrated that she can’t speak more quickly.

‘”It’s something I want to shove out,” she said. “I want my family back.” 

‘She does paint-by-number art and likes coffee and listening to Neil Diamond. She said she likes to go outdoors, but gets out only about twice a week “if somebody takes me.”‘

Andrea Yates

In 2001, news stations around the country broadcasted the chilling news that a 36-year-old mother had drowned her five children in their family bathtub in Houston, Texas, writes Woomer.

‘Andrea Yates struggled against violent delusions surrounding her children. She was checked into the hospital four times over the course of just two years and even begged her husband to let her die, fearing she might harm her children.’

Almost immediately after the birth of her first child, Andrea reported having visions of a sharp, blood-covered knife, and of someone being stabbed.

By the time she had three more children, the delusions were becoming increasingly hard to silence, despite the cocktail of antidepressants and antipsychotics she was prescribed.

After two suicide attempts, she was advised to have no more children as it would ‘guarantee future psychotic depression.’ But her husband Rusty, an evangelical Christian, believed fervently they should have as many children as nature allowed. 

So, incredibly, she became pregnant with her fifth child in November 2000.

On the morning of June 20, 2001, after Rusty left for work, she methodically began to fill the bathtub with water.

Rusty had been warned by Andrea’s doctor not to leave her alone with the children, but it would be an hour before his mother was due to arrive and take over her care. 

That was all the time Andrea needed to call each of her children into the bathroom one by one and drown them, before placing their dripping-wet bodies on her bed.

After three children had been killed, Andrea was in the process of holding little Mary, who was only six months old, under the water as her eldest, seven-year-old Noah, came into the bathroom. Asking his mother what was wrong, he quickly sensed danger and ran.

‘Andrea chased her oldest son around the house before catching him and dragging him to the bathroom. It’s believed that Noah put up the biggest fight, coming up for air at least twice.

‘Eventually, he drowned as his baby sister’s body floated beside him in the tub.’

She said in one confession that she believed Satan was coming for her children, and she had saved them by ‘sending them to paradise.’

It should also be noted that one of the drugs Andrea was taking was Effexor, an antidepressant that is now known to have a rare side effect of homicide ideation. A warning was added to the bottle in 2005. But in 2001, Andrea was taking twice the recommended maximum dose.

She was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. However, four years later, she was back in court for a retrial, after it was revealed that misleading information had led to her initial conviction.

This time, she was found not guilty by reason of insanity. She remains in Kerrville State Hospital to this day.

‘Since her arrest, Andrea has finally been able to get the mental healthcare she desperately needed in 2001,’ writes Woomer. ‘According to… her attorney, she is now completely stabilized and knows what she did.

‘She spends her time alone, making crafts to sell anonymously, with the profits going to a charity in honor of her children. Parnham also says she spends much of her time watching videos of her children.’

Every year, she becomes eligible to be assessed as to her competency to leave Kerrville. Every year, she refuses

Otty Sanchez

Otty Sanchez started to hear voices in her head as young as five, writes Woomer.

‘While often the voices were benevolent and assured her that everything would be OK, a particularly nasty voice she named Lucy told her to do terrible things, including eat her own hand.’

However, she was an adult before she was finally diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and constantly struggled to access the kind of medication or care that could have prevented the appalling violence that followed.

In September 2008, she fell pregnant. Soon after giving birth, she slipped into a deep depression and the voices returned with a vengeance.

‘She believed people were spying on her and trying to take Scotty [her baby] away,’ writes Woomer.

‘As time went on, the voices started telling her that the Devil was in her son – in fact, Otty avoided looking into Scotty’s eyes, afraid she might “see the Devil.”’

She begged to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital but, after being examined, she was released.

Five days later, she murdered her three-and-a-half-week old baby, decapitating and mutilating him, and partially cannibalizing him.

Police ‘found the murder weapons easily – a kitchen knife, a samurai sword, and a machete – and witnessed the grisliest crime scene many of them had ever seen (or would ever see).’

Otty was arrested that day and charged with capital murder. She was eventually found not guilty by reason of insanity and was admitted to the North Texas State Hospital Vernon facility, a maximum-security mental institution, where she remains today.

Her mental competency is reviewed every year by a judge, but those close to the case believe she will never be released.

At the time of her sentencing, her attorney Ed Camara told reporters he didn’t think ‘realistically this is ever the type of thing that can be cured.’

Angela Norman

‘While the idea of a mother murdering her child… is horrifying on its own,’ Woomer writes, ‘the tragedy rises to a whole new level of horror when that child is disabled and unable to fend for themselves.

‘One such tragedy occurred in Dayton, Ohio, and revealed how a helpless teenaged girl experienced a vile and terrifying death at the hands of those meant to care for her.’

Angela Norman gave birth to her daughter Makayla in Dayton, Ohio, in August 1996, and it soon became clear that she was not developing like any other healthy little girl. She was eventually diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy. She was non-verbal and was unable to walk.

‘In 2004, when Makayla was eight years old, her mother pulled her from the Dayton public school system with the intention of homeschooling her,’ reports Woomer.

Despite an anonymous tip that Makayla was not being cared for, and regular visits organized by both state officials and nurses, it was later revealed that Makayla was being slowly tortured to death.

One nurse – who was supposed to visit daily – rarely came. And when she did, she often didn’t even enter the house.

Another nurse, charged with monitoring her colleague’s work, also failed Makayla.

In March 2011, Angela dialled 911, telling the operator that Makayla was in distress and struggling to breathe.

‘Paramedics quickly whisked Makayla to Dayton Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10.30pm, just a few minutes after arriving.

‘The death of a child is a tragedy no matter their age. However,’ writes Woomer, ‘the staff of the children’s hospital and, eventually, the coroner’s office were horrified at the condition of Makayla’s body when she died.

‘The medical record described her at the time of her death: “[H]er hair, eyebrows, and lashes were infested with lice from nit to adult stages; her teeth were covered with plaque; there were growths on her tongue; open bedsores covered her from her ears to her ankles; her skin was caked with dirt; and her colon was so impacted with fecal matter her abdomen had a prominent bulge.”

Makayla was 14 when she died, and she weighed only 28 pounds.

‘One employee at the coroner’s office said Makayla Norman was “the worst malnourished child I think we’ve ever seen.”

‘Angela’s judge, Judge Mary Katherine Huffman, would describe the autopsy photos of Makayla by saying, “That poor child looked worse than any victim from a concentration camp I have ever seen… any photograph I’ve ever seen.”’

Angela eventually pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter as well as endangering a child. She was sentenced to nine years in prison on May 17, 2012.

According to sources at Dayton Daily News, she was released in 2020, and moved to Toledo. More recently a judgment against her was sent to collections in August this year. 

Killer Moms: True Stories by Amanda R Woomer is published by Visible Ink Press