Florida prosecutors have formally put the death penalty on the table for 43-year-old Diana Cullom, the St. Petersburg mother charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 4-year-old son, Finley. The notice of intent to seek capital punishment was filed on April 1, and a status hearing in the case is set for Monday, April 20.
Police say the case began on January 27, when the boy’s 16-year-old sister came home from school and found her mother holding Finley, with blood visible in the residence. Medical examiners later determined that the child had been suffocated with a plastic bag. According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, officers believe Cullom’s stab wounds were self-inflicted, and she was taken to Bayfront Hospital for treatment. Investigators reported finding a knife and a note at the scene and said they do not believe there is any ongoing threat to the public.
The state’s decision to pursue capital punishment was locked in procedurally in early April, when prosecutors filed the formal notice of intent described by WTSP. The filing itself does not decide Cullom’s fate, but it does signal that if she is convicted, the state will push for the harshest sentence available…