Murder Antidepressant* 24/09/2003 Virginia Woman Murders her 83 Year Old Mother
 
 Summary:<br><br><!--StartFragment -->First paragraph reads: &quot;A woman accused of beating her 83-year-old mother to<strong> death was intoxicated at the time by prescription antidepressants and shouldn&#39;t be held criminally responsible, def</strong>ense lawyers argued Wednesday in state court. <br /><br />Paragraph 3 reads [in part]: <strong>&quot;Bagwell said medical experts will show that the drugs Countess was taking created &#39;unexpected results at unexpected times.&#39;&quot; <br /><br /><br /></strong><a href="http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-va--involuntaryintoxi0924sep24,0,3971591.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia">http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-va--involuntaryintoxi0924sep24,0,3971591.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia</a><br /><br /><br /><strong>Woman accused in mother&#39;s slaying uses rare defense</strong> <br /><br /><br />By CHRIS KAHN<br />Associated Press Writer<br /><br />Published September 24, 2003<br /><br />ROANOKE, Va. -- A woman accused of beating her 83-year-old mother to death was intoxicated at the time by prescription antidepressants and shouldn&#39;t be held criminally responsible, defense lawyers argued Wednesday in state court. <br /><br />Cindy Gail Countess, 49, pleaded innocent to one count of first-degree murder in the fatal bludgeoning of Edna Dooley. She doesn&#39;t even remember what happened the morning her mother was found bleeding on the bathroom floor, defense lawyer Anna Bagwell said. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />During opening statements, Bagwell did not dispute prosecutors claims that Countess beat and stomped Dooley to death. Instead, Bagwell said she hoped to show Judge Clifford R. Weckstein &quot;how a woman might kill her beloved mother under the influence of intoxicating substances.&quot; <br />Bagwell said medical experts will show that the drugs Countess was taking created &quot;unexpected results at unexpected times.&quot; After the hearing, Bagwell would not name the medication Countess was taking. <br />The involuntary intoxication defense is a rarity in Virginia and extremely hard to prove, said William Hassan, a Fairfax lawyer who successfully used the defense several years ago. <br />It stems from a 1923 Virginia Supreme Court ruling that says someone can be considered involuntarily intoxicated if impaired by trickery or physician error. <br />&quot;You have to show that you followed the physician&#39;s instructions to the letter, and still you reached a level of insanity,&quot; Hassan said. <br />In court Wednesday, Countess sat silently between defense lawyers in a navy blazer, her graying brown hair combed away from her eyes. She glanced at the audience with a sad, strained look as police told the judge how they found Dooley dead on the bathroom floor. <br />Prosecutor Alice Ekirch said that the morning of the murder, Dooley&#39;s blood was found on her daughter&#39;s socks and shoes. <br />Roanoke Police Officer M.L. Pendleton said when he began taking pictures of the house and gathering evidence, Countess told him &quot;if she had done something to her mother, she wasn&#39;t in the right mind,&quot; he said. <br />Countess&#39; trial is expected to conclude on Thursday.&nbsp;<br /> 
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