Fairfax Woman Pleads Insanity in Death of 2-Year-Old

A Fairfax woman accused of throwing her granddaughter off a sixth-story walkway at Tysons Corner Center late last year pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity Monday in Fairfax County Court.

Carmela Dela Rosa, 51, is charged with murdering her 2-year-old granddaughter, Angelyn Ogdoc, on Nov. 29, 2010.

Dela Rosa's trial is expected to last 10 days, including jury deliberation.

A 12-member jury heard opening arguments from the prosecution and defense, plus the testimony of one witness Monday afternoon.

Prosecutor Ray Morrogh described Dela Rosa as "selfish," "bent on evil" and a "spiteful woman who wanted revenge."

He spoke about the "hatred" she harbored for her son-in-law James Ogdoc — a hatred so intense it ultimately led her to kill his daughter.

Mary "Kat" Ogdoc, Dela Rosa's daughter, started exclusively dating James Ogdoc in 2004, when they were students at Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School in Arlington. They later both enrolled at George Mason University. Kat Odgoc became pregnant in the fall of 2007 and the couple married the following year. Angelyn Ogdoc was born on June 21, 2008.

Morrogh, representing the state, explained to jurors that Carmela Dela Rosa was furious when she learned of the pregnancy.

"She felt this man stole her child from her too soon," he said.

He also argued that the defendant does not meet the legal standard of insanity because she understood  the "nature, character and consequence of her actions" and that she was able to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the offense.

Public Defender Dawn Butorac spent her opening statement arguing that her client was insane when she dropped her granddaughter from the bridge and that her diagnosis of major depressive disorder, dating back to 2000, shows she has a history of mental illness that had progressively become severe over the course of 10 years.

Butorac described Dela Rosa as a "daddy's girl" and the "baby of the family." She also told the jury that in between the defendant's bouts of depressive episodes, she was known for organizing neighborhood pot luck parties and giving presents to co-workers. She was a deeply religious woman who insisted on scraping money together to send her children to Catholic school. Dela Rosa loved to sing, dance and was "the life of the party," Butorac said.

"She is a kind, giving, loving person when not in a major depressive episode," Butorac said. "She loved Angelyn. She doted on Angelyn. She spoiled Angelyn."

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