Dad ‘stabbed his toddler to death then claimed she was “a sacrifice to God”‘

A father accused of stabbing and suffocating his 18 month-old daughter to death claims to have done so as a sacrifice to God, a court heard. Mark Hambrick allegedly said he killed his daughter Amina in New Orleans in 2017, so that he’d be executed and resurrected.

Hambrick is said to believe that he is Jesus Christ, and that he receives direct messages from God, a mental competency hearing was told Monday. Expert witness Dr Janet Johnson said Hambrick believed he would be executed in 2019 – the 400th anniversary of the first slave ships arriving in the US.

Dr Johnson spoke to Hambrick earlier this year, and says she highlighted that it was already 2020, only for him to allegedly tell her that ‘our time’ is different to ‘God’s time.’ She said that was evidence of his ability to bend reality so that it fits his delusions.

The doctor added: ‘He admits he knows it sounds crazy to other people,’ but added that Hambrick is ‘firm’ in his personal beliefs. Tuesday’s hearing was intended to decide whether Hambrick would ever be mentally competent to stand trial for Amina’s murder.

State doctors say they have already come to the conclusion that Hambrick’s mental illness is too severe for him to face a jury.

He called police after stabbing and suffocating Amira to tell them what he had done, then waited for them to come and arrest him, and let officers take him in without incident.

Prosecutor Daniel Smart highlighted Hambrick’s masters degree and career as an auditor as evidence of his intelligence, and asked if medication could help treat his delusions.

He also inquired if Hambrick could have been successfully faking his symptoms to try and avoid a trial.

But a panel of four doctors said they had agreed Hambrick would probably never get better, and that they had previously treated him on anti-psychotic medication for a year.

Prosecution witness Dr Rafael Salcedo, one of those four doctors, said there was ‘no evidence’ Hambrick was faking his injuries.

He also highlighted the fact that Hambrick does not wish to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, and would rather be allowed to admit his crimes to he can be executed for murder.

Judge Robin Pittman will rule on Hambrick’s responsibility at a later date.

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