Dayton mom charged in kids’ slayings seeks 2nd sanity exam

Attorney: Woman doesn’t understand why she’s being held.

The Dayton mother who police said admitted to shooting to death two of her kids to “save them from the evils of the world” appeared Friday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.

Attorneys for Claudena M. Helton, 30, recently filed a motion with Judge Dennis Langer for a second sanity evaluation. Langer set a briefing schedule for attorneys.

In November, Helton entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in the May 18, 2017, deaths of her 8-yearold daughter, Khmorra, and her 6-year-old son, Kaiden.

Both died of gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.

An affidavit filed in court indicated Helton asked her oldest child, an 11-year-old, to assist her in removing the children from the home at 3821 Lori Sue Ave. The girl was taken from the home and interviewed.

Helton was indicted on six counts of aggravated murder. Prosecutors have said Helton could face the death penalty. No trial date is set.

Helton, whose case docket has been restricted from online public access, originally was being held on $1 million bond in Montgomery County Jail.

In a notice to the court of the insanity plea previously obtained by this news organization, Helton’s attorney Anthony VanNoy wrote that his client “does not understand what she is being charged with or what acts constitute the crime. Defendant has a history of mental health issues and does not understand the consequences of her actions.”

Helton — who was naked and in what neighbors said was trance-like state when police arrived just after 10 a.m. May 18 — was interviewed not long after police said passers-by were performing lifesaving measures on the children.

Prosecutors declined to comment after Friday’s hearing, which concluded after an in-chambers meeting with Langer and defense attorneys.