Bronx Mom Who S.t.a.b.b.e.d Her Two Toddlers to Death Walks Free After Judge Rules Postpartum Psychosis Made Her “Not Responsible”
A Bronx judge has ruled that Dimone Fleming, a 26-year-old New York mother, is not criminally responsible for the 2022 killings of her two young sons because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time.
On Monday, nearly four years after the tragedy, Judge Audrey Stone accepted the joint position of prosecutors and the defense that Fleming acted while in a state of severe mental disease or defect. The decision means she will avoid prison. Instead, she faces continued psychiatric evaluation and possible long-term hospitalization if doctors determine she remains a danger.
The killings occurred on the night of November 26, 2022, inside a family shelter in the Mount Hope section of the Bronx. Fleming, then 22, repeatedly stabbed her sons—3-year-old Daishawn Fleming and 11-month-old Octavius Canada—before placing their bodies in a bathtub filled with water and covering them with clothes. A shelter employee called 911 after noticing water and smoke coming from the apartment. Officers found Fleming acting erratically, naked from the waist up and holding a children’s book upside down. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation. The children’s bodies were not immediately discovered; a neighbor had told police the boys were with their father. Shortly afterward, Octavius’s father, Columbus Canada, found the children unresponsive and alerted authorities.
Mental health experts for both sides later agreed that Fleming was “grossly psychotic and out of touch with reality.” Psychiatrists described hallucinations in which she believed the world was ending and that a spirit had invaded her body. She reportedly thought her actions were necessary to “protect or cleanse” her children. Before the incident, Fleming had spent two months in a Queens hospital, where she was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and prescribed psychotropic medication. Court records show she stopped taking the medication and used marijuana daily, which worsened her symptoms.
Fleming was initially charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors later concluded that a murder conviction would not serve justice. “Prosecuting mothers does not and cannot prevent these crimes from happening, but public discourse might,” said Bronx Assistant District Attorney Tiffany Wichman. Fleming remains in custody pending further psychiatric assessment. She is scheduled to return to court on September 18, when the judge will decide next steps based on whether she still poses a risk.
Columbus Canada, the father of the younger child, attended the Monday hearing and expressed forgiveness. He described Fleming as a good and loving person who cared for her children.
The case highlights the rare but devastating nature of postpartum psychosis, a severe mental illness that can emerge after childbirth. It involves rapid hormonal changes, hallucinations, delusions, and a temporary break from reality. While the condition is uncommon—affecting roughly one to two women per 1,000 births—it carries elevated risks of both suicide and, in extreme cases, harm to infants or young children. Early recognition, consistent treatment, and support systems remain critical, as untreated symptoms can escalate quickly.
Fleming’s outcome arrives amid heightened national attention on similar cases involving severe postpartum mental illness. She will not face prison time for the deaths of her sons, but the court will continue to monitor her mental health closely in the months and possibly years ahead.
