Sherri Love Accused of stabbing her 7-year-old daughter to death

A pale Sherri Lynne Love made her first appearance in court Monday, following her first weekend of incarceration.

The 46-year-old mother is accused of stabbing her 7-year-old daughter to death. She has been charged with murder with the use of a deadly weapon and attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon for the Feb. 3 slaying and subsequent attack on her 8-year-old son, who was able to escape.

According to police, Love was drunk on champagne the day of the stabbing and afterward locked herself in her bathroom, where she lost consciousness after ingesting the prescription drug Lorazepam.

Homicide investigators have said she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had a prescription drug problem.

Justice of the Peace Abbi Silver entered a plea of not guilty for Love and set a preliminary hearing date of March 19.

After being unconscious for six days at University Medical Center, Love awakened Thursday.

She has been in isolation and on suicide watch since she was booked into jail on Friday. The cell is equipped with a camera and someone checks on her every 15 minutes.

Deputy Public Defender Andrea Luem said she spoke with Love at the county jail Friday and had to inform Love's mother that her daughter was not only awake but out of the hospital.

Luem and Deputy Public Defender Curtis Brown said they could not speak to Love's health or state of mind and planned to meet with her later that day.

"Like you guys, we were being told for a week she wasn't likely to survive," Brown said.

In court, Love quietly said "yes," when the judge asked her if she understood the charges against her.

Should defense attorneys believe Love is not mentally competent to aid in her own defense, which has happened in cases similar to Love's, they could refer her to District Judge Jackie Glass.

The judge could order her to undergo a competency evaluation.

Depending on the physicians' findings, Love could go to the state facility for the mentally ill in Sparks, Lake's Crossing Center, until she is deemed fit for trial.

But Brown said Love's attorneys need a lot more face time with her before they can discuss competency issues.