HOUSTON — The woman charged in the horrific 2022 death of her 5-year-old daughter in Tomball has been acquitted by reason of insanity.

Melissa Towne's capital murder trial was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, September 9. Judge Mark Ellis heard evidence in

The Tomball woman confessed to killing Nichole Bradshaw-Towne by cutting her throat and suffocating her with a trash bag. The little girl still had the bag over her head when Towne drove her to the ER. She told police that Nichole was "evil" and compared her to "Chuckie" from the horror movies, court records showed. Towne said Nichole wasn't like other children.

The girl's father described her as the "sweetest little girl who never met a stranger. She was so full of love and giggles, and her bright blue eyes shined so full of curio

See Full Page