News 12 at 6 o'clock, January 7, 2009

AUGUSTA, Ga.---She did something so horrible that no parent in their right mind would ever even imagine it. That's exactly the way a judge saw it. Not guilty by reason of insanity. That's the verdict for Jeanette Michelle Hawes in the stabbing deaths of her two young children.

"The courts have spoken," said Gary Willingham. "She'll be home one day."

Willingham says Jeanette Michelle Hawes is like a daughter to him. She's now cleared on all six counts of murder and possession of a knife. The victims were her two young children.

"It's such a relief," said Willingham. "This [the verdict] happened."

Michelle will spend time in a state mental health facility on grounds of insanity.

"She didn't want people to think that she was crazy," said Willingham. "But it was obvious."

Psychiatrist testified that Hawes was paranoid schizophrenic. They said Hawes believed evil forces were out to get her and that her children had been taken over by demons.

"I've been practicing psychiatry for 22 years," said Dr. Susan Haverstock. "I've never come across a case this tragic."

The tragedy is still unfolding.

"I watched these babies grow up," said Willingham. "Janice is not here to see it."

Janice, Jeanette's mother, died of cancer.

"She passed away a few months ago," said Willingham. "She never got to see Michelle again, and it's hurtful."

This father figure now spends his time fighting back tears after a tragic year.

If found not guilty by reason of insanity, a person is confined in a mental hospital until they prove to a judge they pose no risk to society. In Georgia, some patients have been released quickly while others spent decades, often about the same time as if they were found guilty.

There are 168 people who were found not guilty by reason of insanity in Georgia hospitals, according to the state Department of Human Resources. Not all are in for murder. Ten years ago, there were 250.