Mental exam sought for mother held in slaying

The lawyer for a woman charged with killing her 6-year-old daughter with a pair of scissors is seeking a mental health evaluation for her client.

Danielle Slaughter, 27, appeared before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure for the first time Friday morning via closed-circuit television from the Clark County Detention Center.

She said she understood she was charged with murder with use of a deadly weapon. But whether Slaughter understands what is happening is unclear.

Slaughter had missed a court appearance earlier this week after refusing to leave her jail cell, where she was on suicide watch, Deputy Public Defender Andrea Luem said.

Luem will seek a mental evaluation for her client with other mental health records before a March 29 preliminary hearing.

Luem had hoped to set the preliminary hearing for April, giving her more time to investigate Slaughter's mental health history. But when asked by the judge whether an April date was OK , Slaughter said she wanted a quicker hearing.

About eight of Slaughter's friends and family attended the hearing, including her boyfriend, members of her church and co-workers from Macy's department store. They refused to speak to the media after the hearing.

Authorities said Slaughter was possibly delusional Sunday afternoon when she stabbed her daughter, Kyla Franks, to death with a pair of scissors.

Kyla was a kindergartner at Bell Elementary School, while her mother was in her first semester at the College of Southern Nevada.

According to a Las Vegas police report, Slaughter confessed to killing Kyla after hearing her daughter speak in an "evil" voice. She told detectives she had felt a dark presence in her home for several days.

Slaughter also told police she recently had begun taking the weight-loss supplement Hydroxycut.

About 6 p.m., shortly after the killing, Slaughter was found running naked on Vegas Drive near Jones Boulevard, about two miles from her home. She was screaming, and her hands were covered in blood, although she was uninjured.

"The blood was from the Lamb of God," Slaughter told the officers who found her.

Police weren't able to connect Slaughter to her daughter's death for more than two hours, when Slaughter's live-in boyfriend came home and found the girl's body, near Vegas Drive and Tenaya Way.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.