Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.
QUESTION: In 1994 or 1995, Paula Scott killed her child. She was sent to a mental hospital before she could stand trial. What has happened to her since?
Submitted by: Shirley, Sacramento
ANSWER: Paula Lynn Scott pleaded no contest to strangling her 5-year-old daughter, Jesusita, in 1998 to spite her husband.
According to stories in The Bee, under the plea agreement worked out by the prosecution and the defense in 2001, Scott was sent to a state mental hospital where she was to remain until she regained her sanity. If ever found sane, she would face a term of 25-years-to-life in state prison.
Sacramento Superior Court online records show that the case remains active and petitions to extend her commitment have been repeatedly granted since 2001.
Scott's daughter was found strangled on a bed July 8, 1998. Two pairs of knee-high nylon stockings, which had been tied together, were found nearby.
Scott had called 911 that morning. When deputies arrived at her apartment in the 2800 block of Norcade Circle, east of Watt Avenue near Highway 50, they found the girl's distraught father crying in the street.
Evidence indicated the child had died at least 24 hours before the emergency call, according to the coroner's office.
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