Diana Cullom, who was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 4-year-old son back in January, appeared in court Tuesday for a pretrial hearing.
The 44-year-old was arrested on Jan. 27 after St. Petersburg police responded to a home on Tanglewood Drive Northeast for reports of someone bleeding.
When police arrived, they found a 16-year-old girl saying that when she got home from school, she found her mother holding her 4-year-old brother in a bed. Police said there was blood at the scene and throughout the house.
Both Cullom, 44, and her son, Finley, were taken to Bayfront Hospital. Police said she had “multiple lacerations,” but that her injuries were not life-threatening.
Finley died from his injuries.
Police initially believed the child had been stabbed. However, the medical examiner learned he had been suffocated with a plastic bag. Investigators say Cullom had self-inflicted stab wounds.
On Jan. 28, Cullom was released from the hospital overnight and charged with first-degree murder in the death of her son. She has been held without bond in the Pinellas County Jail.
A judge deemed Cullom incompetent to stand trial on April 22. She was found competent to proceed in August.
In court Tuesday, her attorney said they plan to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Her next court date is in December. The state is seeking the death penalty.