Woman not guilty by reason of insanity in son's 2023 death

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A woman accused of killing her 5-year-old child in January of 2023 was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

A Franklin Court Common Pleas judge granted a defendant's motion last month allowing Saado M. Adam, 45, to plead not guilty by reason of insanity; the prosecution did not contest the motion.

Adam was charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, and two counts of endangering children in the death of her son.

According to court documents, Columbus police responded to Nationwide Children's Hospital on Jan. 9, 2023, for a call of a deceased child.

While interviewing Adam, police learned the boy had been sick for several weeks, was not eating regularly, and had not been walking since November, according to court records.

Adam told police she did not provide medical services for her son because she “heard voices that told her not to take her son to the doctor,” court records state.

According to court records, a doctor with Nationwide Children’s told police the boy appeared to be suffering from “prolonged starvation or massively inadequate feeding.”