Connie Carmichael

While I disagree with this Judges decision, I do not call for “ beating his head on the concrete ” (see our post) !
Wonder what KXYL’s Connie Carmichael thinks of this ?

Judge: Schlosser can raise kids alone
04:41 PM CST on Friday, February 11, 2005
By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News
John Schlosser
McKINNEY – A judge ruled this morning that the man whose wife admitted cutting off their baby's arms can parent his children alone.
John Schlosser's sister has been living with him and his two daughters, ages 6 and 9, since they left foster care last month.
Dena Schlosser, who turns 36 today, was charged with capital murder after the Nov. 22 death of her daughter, Margaret "Maggie" Schlosser. She was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis after her daughter's birth last January.
His sister, Aleta Schlosser, will leave Feb. 17 but will keep in daily phone contact with the children. Ms. Schlosser lives in New York. Judge Cynthia Wheless also issued a gag order in the case.
Also Online
Dad's 'lack of emotion' in baby's death cited in psychiatric report
She also said the children must continue individual counseling, Mr. Schlosser should continue parenting classes and all three must continue family counseling.
Child Protective Services will continue to monitor the situation.

source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/021105dnmetschlosserupdate.99c47cec.html

Dad's 'lack of emotion' in baby's death cited in psychiatric report

Man has grieved over loss and couldn't have predicted infant's death, attorney says

09:44 AM CST on Friday, February 11, 2005
By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News
The night before Dena Schlosser admitted cutting off her baby's arms, her husband "spanked" his wife with a wooden spoon, their school-age daughter told authorities.
The 6-year-old girl said John Schlosser hit her mother for not listening to him after they argued in a church parking lot.


John Schlosser
The incident is among new details revealed in a psychiatric evaluation of Mr. Schlosser completed to help determine whether his surviving daughters should live with him. The evaluation, performed by psychologist Jana R. Long less than a month after 10-month-old Margaret Schlosser died, was obtained by The Dallas Morning News this week.
The report describes Mr. Schlosser's "lack of emotion" after the tragic events in his life and echoes concern by Child Protective Services that Mr. Schlosser, 35, could have done more to protect his youngest daughter from his wife's "violent, psychotic" behavior.
Mr. Schlosser has declined to comment. His attorney, Howard Shapiro, said his client is a fit parent who could not have predicted what happened to his daughter. He said the report should not be made public.
"If you think that John Schlosser hasn't grieved, you'd be wrong," Mr. Shapiro said. "Maybe he hasn't cried openly on TV. Maybe he hasn't jumped up and down and ripped his clothes off, but he's grieved."
State District Judge Cynthia Wheless sealed the report last month for the best interest of the children, according to a notation in the court file.
Details from the report, medical records, and family members, shed new light on a family that relied heavily on prayer to solve their problems, even as Mrs. Schlosser declined from a loving mother of three to a woman accused of killing her baby girl.
Born and died at home
Margaret "Maggie" Elizabeth Schlosser was born at home with the help of a midwife last January. The next day, her mother attempted suicide by slashing her wrist. Days later, she was found running down the street screaming, saying a spirit was in the apartment, according to medical records. She left Margaret alone. Mrs. Schlosser's family says this was her first run-in with mental illness, postpartum psychosis and the antipsychotic drug Haldol.

Schlosser family photo
Margaret Elizabeth Schlosser was born at home with the help of a midwife.
Paramedics took Mrs. Schlosser to the hospital, where Mr. Schlosser begged doctors to send his wife home, according to medical records. He was worried their religious beliefs would be confused with psychosis, the records show. In 24 hours, doctors at three hospitals diagnosed his wife with just that.
Child Protective Services investigated Mrs. Schlosser for neglect because she left Maggie alone. Because Mrs. Schlosser could not be alone with the children, Mr. Schlosser's mother stayed with the family for six weeks, the psychiatric report said.
Instead of following up with doctors, Mr. Schlosser said he and his wife prayed, according to the psychiatric report. He thought her problems were over.
From Al Dia
En duda, estabilidad del padre de bebé fallecida

"Mr. Schlosser indicated at the time of Mrs. Schlosser's suicide attempt, she believed she was not doing God's will, and she needed to hurt herself to see if God would heal her," the psychiatric report says.
The report cites CPS records that document Mr. Schlosser's "lack of emotion at the time. He's described as being 'extremely calm ... he doesn't seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation ... ' He repeatedly told the caseworker that the situation was in God's hands and everything would work out."
But in March, Mrs. Schlosser was back in the hospital and once again on Haldol, according to her parents and the psychiatric report. She left the Schlossers' apartment in the middle of the night and went to a nearby hospital, where she was found lying on the bathroom floor screaming, Mrs. Schlosser's stepfather, Mick Macaulay, said. Further details of the hospitalization and any follow-ups are unclear.
CPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said there is nothing about the March hospitalization in the agency's records that are open to the public, and she could not comment on the March hospital stay.
Mrs. Schlosser was weaned off Haldol in June, and her psychiatrist terminated treatment in July, according to the psychiatric report and CPS officials.
CPS closed the case in August and had no further contact until Maggie's Nov. 22 death.
Dealings with minister
Dena Schlosser's family said she was obsessed with Water of Life Church and its charismatic minister, Doyle Davidson. Mr. Davidson, a self-proclaimed prophet, preaches that women have "jezebel spirit" and must submit to their husbands. He claims to heal people by laying hands on them and says doctors are unnecessary for those with enough faith.
In the days before Maggie's death, the Schlossers were arguing about an incident involving Mr. Davidson and a different church member, said Mr. Macaulay, who lives in Canada.

AP
John Schlosser said he and his wife consulted minister Doyle Davidson (above) the night before Margaret was killed, but the leader of Water of Life Church says they talked only briefly.
Mr. Davidson had recently been arrested over the incident and paid a fine for public intoxication. He denies the charge and said he was trying to drive the devil out of a woman who had strayed from the church.
Mrs. Schlosser wanted to confront Plano police about the arrest, her family said. Mr. Schlosser did not want his wife to get involved.
On the Friday before the tragedy, Mr. Schlosser took Mrs. Schlosser and baby to work with him, according to her parents and the legal assistant to her attorney David Haynes.
At church that Sunday, the Schlossers argued in the parking lot because Mrs. Schlosser wanted to give their youngest daughter "to God," according to the psychiatric report and CPS officials.
The couple talked about a Bible passage in which a woman promises her baby to God and how their lives were different, according to the report. Mr. Schlosser told Dr. Long the conversation was not unusual because his wife is "very religious but often misinterprets Scriptures."
Again, the couple prayed about it and consulted their minister, who told Mrs. Schlosser she was misinterpreting the Bible, the report said. Mr. Schlosser said he thought the problem was solved.
But Mr. Davidson, who said he does not know the couple well, said he never talked with them about Mrs. Schlosser's interpretation of the Bible. He said they talked for two or three minutes about her desire to defend him.
"I told her you didn't need to defend me. God is my defense," Mr. Davidson said.
Mr. Macaulay said he's "puzzled" that Mr. Davidson would say he doesn't know the Schlossers well when he counseled them the night before Maggie's death.
Dr. Long noted that when the Schlossers returned home, Mr. Schlosser "spanked" his wife with a wooden spoon, one of the girls told CPS. No other details of the incident were included in the report.
Father defended
On Monday, the day Maggie died, Mr. Schlosser went to work alone, and the older girls attended elementary school. Mr. Schlosser said he called his wife several times without an answer that morning, according to the report. Finally, she picked up the phone and told him she had cut off Maggie's arms. Mr. Schlosser said his wife seemed disoriented and "not in her right mind."
When emergency personnel arrived, Mrs. Schlosser answered the door wearing a green blouse and blue jeans, court records show. A kitchen knife with a 9-inch blade was tucked into her shirt. She looked dazed and was covered in blood.


Dena Schlosser
The hymn "He Touched Me" played in the background as Officer David Tilley took the knife and ran down the hall to where Maggie lay in her crib.
The baby was not breathing, and the sheets were covered with blood.
"I felt like I had to," Mrs. Schlosser told Officer Tilley when he asked why she hurt Maggie, court records show.
The psychiatric report and CPS officials say Mr. Schlosser could have done more to protect Maggie, but Mr. Shapiro asked how his client could have known.
"Sure he was worried. She wasn't acting right. And he took her to work. But does that mean he thought one of his children" would die? Mr. Shapiro said. "He certainly didn't think anything that Dena had done should have tipped John off that she was going to do some sort of human sacrifice."
Mr. Haynes, Mrs. Schlosser's attorney, declined to comment.
'Lack of emotion'
Mr. Schlosser told Dr. Long in December he was angry about not having his older children with him. But he was "trusting in God" and knew everything would work out.
The girls, ages 6 and 9, are now living at home after about two months in foster care, under the condition that Mr. Schlosser's sister lives with the family. The court will examine the arrangement today.
Dr. Long wrote in her report that Mr. Schlosser's responses to the tragedy in his life are unusual and said he has narcissistic personality traits.
"His lack of emotion given the traumatic nature of recent events is disturbing," she wrote. "This absence of grief is either an immature denial of normal human emotions that hover under the surface of his controlled veneer or indicates a true lack of emotion."
Mr. Schlosser told her he felt "a little melancholy" about Maggie's death, but he finds comfort that she is "praising God" in heaven. He said he was "almost done being very sad when I buried her."
Initially, he said he was "angry, disappointed" with his wife. "I need to forgive her ... I don't have a lot to say to her. She's still my wife, but she's no longer in my house."
Mr. Schlosser should have sought ongoing psychiatric treatment for his wife instead of relying on prayer and conversations with their minister, Dr. Long's report says.
Dr. Long wrote that Mr. Schlosser has good problem-solving abilities, is financially able to provide for his kids and could benefit from education regarding parenting young and adolescent children. She wrote that he scored within normal limits on a parenting test.
However, she expressed concern that Mr. Schlosser's lack of understanding about mental illness and his wife's condition "will negatively impact his daughters."
She noted that his responses to his daughters' questions during supervised visits focus on "his own coping rather than his daughters." The report gave a few examples.
When the older girl asked about her mother, Mr. Schlosser told her, "Mommy put herself in this position for what she did."
Later, during the same visit, the girl asked what kind of knife her mother used.
"Does it really matter?" he told her. "I am trying not to think about it."
E-mail jemily@dallasnews.com

source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/021105dnccoschlosser.4c3a6.html