Advertisement

San Diego

Share

A mother who suffocated her 22-month-old son on Christmas Eve was committed Monday to a state mental hospital for treatment.

Defense attorney Michael Popkins said his client, Bonnie Tafoya, 19, could spend the rest of her life in Patton State Hospital.

Court records show psychiatrists have diagnosed Tafoya as being a paranoid schizophrenic with delusions. She once told officials she was the “mother of God” and her son was Jesus Christ.

Advertisement

San Diego Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman found Tafoya innocent by reason of insanity in the death of James Deems, and concluded Monday that she was still insane.

The child was born during a three-year relationship she had with the father, Daniel Deems, when they lived in Southeast San Diego.

Advertisement