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Judgment made in case involving woman who drowned her kids

Feb. 3—A 26-year-old Linda woman who was arrested in 2022 after law enforcement deputies found two of her children dead in the bathtub of her home, was found not guilty by reason of insanity this week by a Yuba County judge.

On Wednesday, Yuba County Superior Court Judge Benjamin Wirtschafter signed an order that will send Courtney Williams, 26, of Linda, to a state hospital for treatment and supervision. Williams on July 20, 2022, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges that stemmed from an incident on April 7, 2022, at her Linda home. Wirtschafter accepted her plea of not guilty by reason of insanity at the request of both the defense and prosecution based on reports from doctors.

On that day in April 2022, a 911 call to dispatchers by the father alerted authorities to the fact that Williams, who was 25 at the time of the incident, may have drowned the couple's young children at their home in the 6100 block of Sunshine Avenue in Linda.

Investigators previously said the father of the children returned home from work shortly before noon. He reportedly told investigators that his wife told him that she had hurt the children.

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During a search of the home, two young boys, aged 5 months and 2, were found unresponsive in a bathtub full of water. Yuba County Sheriff's deputies who arrived immediately began CPR, but both children were declared dead at the scene.

"The tragic loss of five-month-old Holden and his two-and-a-half-year-old brother Ronin reverberates throughout our department and into the community," Yuba County Sheriff Wendell Anderson previously said in a statement. "There are no words to adequately describe the sadness we feel for the family at this time."

Williams, who has been in custody since her arrest, was charged by the Yuba County District Attorney's Office with the murder of both children, Yuba County District Attorney Clint Curry said. Days after the incident, Williams pleaded not guilty to two counts of first degree murder and two counts of child abuse resulting in death.

If convicted, she faced a maximum penalty of life without the possibility of parole, Curry previously said.

"On July 20, 2022, Williams changed her plea from simply 'not guilty' to a dual plea of 'not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity,'" Curry said in a statement on Friday. "The court at that time appointed two doctors to thoroughly evaluate Williams's sanity; the defense and prosecution each chose one of the doctors. Citing in part Williams's battle with postpartum depression and psychosis, both doctors separately concluded that Williams was insane at the time she killed her children."

Curry said that on Jan. 12 of this year, Williams changed her dual plea, "admitting that she was guilty of murdering her children, but still 'not guilty by reason of insanity.'"

As a result of that change, Curry's office asked the court to accept the new plea based on the reports by doctors.

"Wirtschafter reviewed the reports, accepted the plea, and formally found Williams not guilty by reason of insanity on that same day," Curry said. "A placement report from Sutter-Yuba Behavioral Health recommended that Williams be committed to the State Hospital, and Judge Wirtschafter signed the commitment order on February 1, 2023."

Curry said Williams can apply for a release from the state hospital "once her sanity has been restored." In order for that to happen, a court would have to find that Williams will not be a danger to the health and safety of others, due to a mental defect, disease, or any disorder.

"Tragedies like this affect an entire community," Curry said in a statement. "I know how difficult these cases are and I want to thank the deputies, first responders, detectives, and prosecutors who worked on this case. It's clear Courtney Williams was suffering from serious mental health issues and didn't receive the help she so desperately needed, and it's heartbreaking that her children had to pay the ultimate price."

Curry said that cases that involve insanity defenses can be "confusing and procedurally complicated." In the U.S., anyone found to be legally insane at the time they commit any given offense is not held criminally responsible for their actions.

"Under California law, a person is legally insane if he or she had a mental disease or defect at the time of the crime that caused him or her to be incapable of knowing or understanding the nature and quality of his or her act, or incapable of understanding that his or her act was morally or legally wrong," Curry said.

Due to the nature of Williams' actions, Curry stressed the importance of recognizing and treating serious conditions such as postpartum depression — a condition that he said can affect one in seven new parents.

He said symptoms of postpartum depression can include feeling sad, worthless, hopeless or guilty; worrying excessively or feeling on edge; loss of interest in hobbies; changes in appetite; loss of energy and motivation; trouble sleeping or wanting to sleep all the time; crying for no reason or excessively; difficulty thinking or focusing; thoughts of suicide or wishing you were dead; lack of interest in or feeling anxious around your baby; thoughts of hurting your baby or feeling like you don't want your baby.

"Tell your doctor if you are experiencing any of these symptoms," Curry said. "For immediate help, or if you have thoughts of hurting yourself or someone else, dial 911."

For resources related to postpartum depression, visit the Postpartum Support International website at www.postpartum.net or call 1-800-944-4773.