Mental defect defense sought for woman in Amber Alert deaths

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Attorneys for an Indiana woman accused of abducting her two young children and smothering them are seeking a defense of mental disease or defect for her.

A motion for that defense was filed Thursday for 29-year-old Amber Pasztor of Fort Wayne.

She's charged with two counts of murder in the Sept. 26 killings of 7-year-old Liliana Hernandez and 6-year-old Rene Pasztor after their abduction from their custodial grandparents' home led authorities to issue an Amber Alert.

Public defender Peter Soldato has said in court filings that attorneys believe Pasztor cannot fully understand the legal proceedings she faces or help prepare her defense. A judge has ordered an evaluation by two psychiatric experts to see if she's competent to stand trial.

The state is seeking a life sentence without parole.
 

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