An Evanston woman who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the drowning deaths of her two children was sentenced Thursday to a maximum-security hospital.

Stovall

        Bridget Stovall, 24, will be treated indefinitely at the Twin Valley mental institution near Columbus, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Fred Cartolano ruled.

        Ms. Stovall, who sat expressionless during much of the hearing, still blames the children's deaths on a neighbor who she believes put a voodoo hex on the family, according to a psychiatrist and psychologist who testified Thursday.

        “She said, "It bothers me that I'm labeled insane,' ” psychiatrist Dr. James Hawkins said. “She has no insight. She believes she should be released because she's not a murderer and she's not insane.”

        Ms. Stovall, a single mother, drowned her 20-month-old son, Iyan, and 4-year-old daughter, Cariyan, in the bathtub of their Woodburn Avenue apartment in April 2001.

        She never called police, who later broke down the door after a neighbor reported hearing a woman screaming. They found Ms. Stovall in the bathroom with her two dead children.

        Judge Cartolano cited the seriousness of the crime and concern that a local facility was less secure and could allow Ms. Stovall to escape and harm the neighbor she blames for the hex.

        The judge also expressed concern that during a two-week period in May, Ms. Stovall refused to take an anti-psychotic medication.

        Psychologist Robert Kurzhals testified that she said she did so because it made her gain weight.

        Ms. Stovall faced the death penalty when charged with aggravated murder. She then waived her right to a jury trial and was tried before a three-judge panel.

        A status hearing was set for Jan. 30.

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