Texas Mother BUTCHERS Baby — CPS Knew Everything

A Texas mother’s brutal killing of her infant daughter exposed catastrophic failures in the state’s child protective and mental health systems—failures that allowed a preventable tragedy despite clear warning signs and prior government intervention.

Story Snapshot

Dena Schlosser severed her 11-month-old daughter’s arms with a kitchen knife in November 2004, claiming God commanded the act
Texas CPS had closed Schlosser’s case just three months earlier despite documented postpartum psychosis and prior hospitalization
Found not guilty by reason of insanity, Schlosser was later released from a mental hospital over prosecutors’ objections
The case revealed dangerous gaps in how government agencies handle severe maternal mental illness and child safety

Government System Failed to Protect Innocent Child

On November 22, 2004, Dena Schlosser committed an unthinkable act in her Plano apartment. The 35-year-old mother used a kitchen knife to amputate both arms of her nearly 11-month-old daughter, Margaret. After committing the horrific crime, Schlosser calmly called 911 and waited for police while sitting in her blood-soaked living room, a hymn playing in the background. The infant died at a Dallas-area hospital. This tragedy represents a devastating failure of the systems designed to protect vulnerable children from harm.

CPS Closed Case Despite Serious Mental Illness

The most troubling aspect of this case is what happened before the murder. In January 2004, Texas Child Protective Services intervened after Schlosser was found running down the street, having left her six-day-old daughter alone in the apartment. She was hospitalized for postpartum depression and psychotic episodes, then agreed to counseling and psychiatric care. CPS caseworkers monitored the family throughout spring and summer. Yet on August 9, 2004—just three months before the killing—CPS closed the case. A spokeswoman later claimed there were never indications of violence and the children appeared healthy and well-cared for, a statement that raises serious questions about the agency’s competence in assessing danger.

Insanity Verdict and Controversial Release

After a hung jury in her first trial, Schlosser was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2006 and committed to Rusk State Hospital. Mental health officials conducted annual reviews of her condition. Within a few years, hospital professionals recommended her release, determining she was stable enough for outpatient treatment. Collin County Prosecutor Curtis Howard vigorously opposed this decision, arguing she should remain institutionalized. However, under Texas law, the court was bound to follow mental health officials’ recommendations. Schlosser was released with conditions including weekly psychiatric visits, mandatory medication, physician-approved birth control, and no unsupervised contact with children.

Howard’s objection highlighted a critical flaw in the system: “It was our position that she should remain, but the problem is that based upon the commitment scheme the court is working under, he’s got to base his decision on mental health officials and their recommendations.” He called for legislative reform to change how insanity acquittees are managed, emphasizing that public safety concerns were being subordinated to mental health assessments. This case exemplifies government overreach in its worst form—bureaucrats making decisions that endanger communities while dismissing legitimate safety concerns from prosecutors who understand the gravity of violent crimes.

Pattern of Failed Mental Health Interventions

The Schlosser case was not isolated. Texas saw multiple similar tragedies during this period, including Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children in 2001, and Deanna Laney, who beat two young sons to death with rocks in 2003. Both were found not guilty by reason of insanity. This pattern reveals systemic problems in identifying and treating severe postpartum psychosis before it escalates to violence. The recurring failures suggest that government agencies prioritized bureaucratic procedures over common-sense protections for innocent children. For families concerned about protecting their loved ones, these cases demonstrate the dangers of trusting government systems that repeatedly fail at their most basic responsibility.

The tragedy destroyed multiple lives beyond Margaret’s death. Schlosser’s two older daughters, ages six and nine at the time, lost their sister and were permanently separated from their mother through divorce terms established in 2007. The girls were raised by their father, bearing psychological scars from an unimaginable loss that government intervention should have prevented. These children represent the human cost of bureaucratic incompetence and misplaced priorities in state agencies tasked with child protection.