A Bronx mother diagnosed with postpartum psychosis has been found not guilty in the 2022 deaths of her two young children, a ruling that comes as jurors in Massachusetts continue weighing a comparable case involving Lindsay Clancy.
Dimone Fleming, 26, was declared not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect on Monday in the killings of her children, 3-year-old Daishawn Fleming and 11-month-old Octavius Canada, who died inside a Bronx family shelter, according to the New York Times.
Psychiatrist Dr. Eric Goldsmith said Fleming was “grossly psychotic and out of touch with reality” on the night of the horrific deaths.
Goldsmith, who examined Fleming for prosecutors, reported that she was experiencing hallucinations, believed the world was ending and thought a spirit had taken control of her body.
A separate forensic psychiatric report prepared by doctors retained by the defense reached a similar conclusion, stating that Fleming believed she needed to act in order to protect or “cleanse” her children.
Court records cited by the Times show that, before the killings, Fleming had spent two months receiving treatment at a Queens hospital, where she was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and given psychotropic medication.
Authorities said Fleming did not follow the prescribed medication regimen and was instead using marijuana every day, which reportedly worsened her psychiatric symptoms.
Mental health evaluations ordered by both prosecutors and the defense ultimately found that Fleming was in a psychotic state when the deadly attacks occurred.
On the night of Nov. 26, 2022, a shelter employee called 911 on reports of water and smoke coming from Fleming’s apartment.
Police found Fleming “acting irrationally” and she was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Cops didn’t initially notice the slain boys buried under a pile of clothes in the bathtub when they took her away, as a neighbor told police the young children were with their father.
Shortly after, Fleming’s then-boyfriend and father of 11-month-old Octavius, Columbus Canada, found the two young boys unresponsive in the apartment and called police.
Police sources told The Post at the time that Fleming allegedly confessed to killing her two young sons and made statements about the “devil” to detectives.
The then-22-year-old mother was charged with first-degree murder.
In court this week, prosecutors said that trying Fleming for double murder would not serve justice.
“Prosecuting mothers does not and cannot prevent these crimes from happening, but public discourse might,” Bronx assistant district attorney Tiffany Wichman told the publication.
“People talking about it is important, and I hope people continue talking about it,” the prosecutor said.
Fleming — who is not yet being released from custody — will be re-evaluated by court-appointed psychiatrists and is slated to return to court on Sept. 18.
The judge is expected to make a ruling on next steps and if she might still be a threat to others.
While she will avoid a prison stint, Fleming could likely remain hospitalized for months — if not years.
Canada, 35, was in court on Monday and told the outlet that he forgives Fleming for what she did four years ago.
“She’s a good person,” he said. “She was a loving person. She loved kids.”
Fleming’s case draws eerie parallels between Lindsay Clancy’s highly publicized Massachusetts triple-murder trial, where jurors are in the process of deciding the former labor and delivery nurse’s fate.
Clancy wants the jury to find her not guilty by reason of insanity on the grounds she was experiencing severe postpartum psychosis when she strangled her three kids and tried to kill herself — allegedly worsened by a slew of powerful psychiatric meds she was prescribed.
