An Ohio woman who faked her four-year-old son's cancer wants to pursue an insanity plea for child endangerment charges, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
Emily Creno, 31, of Utica, was charged earlier this month after parents with sick children became suspicious of her donation account.
Her court-appointed attorney, Christopher Cooper, filed a motion in court seeking to plead not guilty by reason of insanity and wants a competency evaluation performed, arguing his client has a history of mental illness and doesn't understand that her actions were wrong or illegal.
"It's part of the process, and we're just beginning," Cooper said. "It is in her (Creno's) best interest that we proceed in this manner."
Prosecutor Ken Oswalt believes some of the mother's actions were done on purpose, in order to cover her lies.
"I would be shocked if an examiner came to any other conclusion," Oswalt said.
Her next court appearnce will be on Oct. 31 in a Licking County courtroom.
After setting up a Facebook page for her "sick" son, Creno received care packages and cash from across the country. She claimed on the social media site that J.J. was diagnosed with brain cancer on December 12, 2012.
However, a woman who has a child with cancer tipped off police in May when she became suspicious of Creno and her donation page.
"A lot of different groups came to her aid, very compassionate and when they started asking questions like my son went through this, or my child, my brother went through this and she couldn't answer question, she started kicking people out of the group," said Detective Damian Smith of the Utica Police Department.
After doctors at Nationwide Children's Hospital declared J.J. as healthy and cancer-free, Creno was arrested and charged with felony child endangerment earlier this month. The hospital declared that her son was a victim of medical child abuse.
