Doctor says Edmonton mom who drowned her seven-year-old was mentally ill

EDMONTON – A psychiatrist has testified an Edmonton mother was mentally ill and deluded with feelings of moral righteousness when she drowned her seven-year-old son in a bathtub.

Dr. Curtis Woods says Nerlin Sarmiento was having a major depressive episode when she killed the boy at the family’s apartment in February.

He says the mother believed she was worthless, couldn’t provide for her family and wanted to save her son from a life of poverty and suffering.

Sarmiento, who is 32, has admitted in court documents that she killed Omar Jajoy.

But she has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder.

A judge is to determine if she had a mental disorder at the time of the killing and should be found not criminally responsible.