Killing of Joshua and Luke Laney

On the night of May 9, 2003, at approximately 11:30 pm, Deanna Laney woke her 8-year-old son, Joshua, and took him to the yard of the family's home in New Chapel Hill, Texas. There, she lifted a large rock over her head and brought it down on his skull, fatally injuring him. She then dragged her 6-year-old son, Luke, to the same area of the yard and killed him in the same manner. Afterward, she attempted to kill her youngest son, 14-month-old Aaron, in his crib using a stone. Aaron was found alive, though he had sustained severe head injuries; a pillow had been placed over his face.

During the subsequent investigation, Laney told authorities that God had ordered her to kill her sons. She was a member of an Assemblies of God church, where she sang in the choir. Approximately a year before the killings, she reportedly told fellow churchgoers that the world was coming to an end and that God had instructed her to "get her house in order." She later told a psychiatrist that she hoped she and Andrea Yates — another Texas mother who killed her children and was found not guilty by reason of insanity in a separate case — would work together as "God's only witnesses" at the end of the world.

Five mental health experts evaluated Laney in connection with the case: two retained by the prosecution, two by the defense, and one appointed by the judge. All five concluded that she suffered from psychotic delusions at the time of the killings that left her unable to distinguish right from wrong. Based on this evaluation, a Smith County court found her not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2004 trial.

Following the verdict, Laney was committed to Kerrville State Hospital, where she remained for eight years before her release in May 2012. Her release was subject to a set of conditions, including a prohibition on unsupervised contact with minors and a requirement that she submit to regular drug testing to ensure compliance with required medication.

This case is one of several instances of filicide in Texas that have drawn public and legal attention, alongside cases involving other individuals convicted or adjudicated in connection with the deaths of their children in the state.