Northern California woman who fatally stabbed mother found not guilty

"According to the Dec. 1 release, Tonantzyn Beltran suffered a severe psychotic episode in early 2024, leading to the fatal stabbing of her mother, Olivia Beltran, a community organizer and disability justice advocate. Olivia Beltran was aware of her daughter's illness and believed that she needed to be given proper mental health care instead of being incarcerated, family members said. Just 24 hours before Olivia Beltran's death, her daughter was released from psychiatric care despite her family's pleas to keep her hospitalized."

"When local police responded to reports of a fight at an apartment complex in San Rafael on Jan. 8 of that year, they found Tonantzyn Beltran standing next to "a stabbed female victim" and holding a knife, a January 2024 news release from the San Rafael Police Department said. Tonantzyn Beltran was not immediately responsive to officers' directions, it continued. During the investigation, authorities discovered that she had recorded the stabbing on Facebook Live, leading to calls to local police."

"Despite having more than 7,000 pages of medical records documenting Tonantzyn Beltran's long history of schizoaffective disorder — which can cause symptoms ranging from delusions and hallucinations to mania and depression — the Marin County District Attorney's office "rejected a not guilty by reason of insanity determination and forced the case to trial," the Dec. 1 release said. Subsequently, jurors and family members had to listen to graphic audio and video recordings of the stabbing for the next four weeks."

Tonantzyn Beltran suffered a severe psychotic episode in early 2024 and fatally stabbed her mother, Olivia Beltran, a community organizer and disability justice advocate. Olivia knew of her daughter's schizoaffective disorder and had urged hospitalization rather than incarceration. Police found Tonantzyn at the scene on Jan. 8 holding a knife and discovered she had recorded the attack on Facebook Live. More than 7,000 pages of medical records documented longstanding illness. The Marin County District Attorney declined a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity finding and pursued trial, during which jurors and family members heard graphic audio and video evidence before returning a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict.

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