A woman with a history of postnatal depression told an emergency operator she had cut off the arms of her baby daughter, then waited calmly until police arrived.
She was charged with murder after the child died in hospital on Tuesday.
Authorities found Dena Schlosser, 35, and her fatally injured 11-month-old baby after the child's father called a day-care centre and asked them to check on his wife and daughter in the Dallas suburb of Plano.
Schlosser sat calmly in the living room when officers arrived. Her clothes were covered in blood and the baby lay in her crib in a back bedroom.
Schlosser told police she was responsible for the baby's injuries but declined to elaborate, police said.
They did not say whether investigators recovered a knife or another weapon.
"It doesn't appear to be accidental. Both arms were completely severed," police officer Carl Duke said. "She was not talking when she left here. She was very quiet, subdued."
Plano police said the child's injuries were horrifying.
"I've never had to face anything like this before," said Detective Bryan Wood. "And, frankly, I'd never want to. My sympathies go out to the family, and to the first responders on the scene."
After the father's call, day-care workers called the police-fire emergency number and an operator then phoned the mother.
The operator asked Schlosser if there was an emergency, according to audiotapes obtained by Dallas-Fort Worth TV station KDFW. Schlosser calmly responded: "Yes."
"Exactly what happened?" the operator asked.
"I cut her arms off," Schlosser replied, as the hymn He Touched Me played in the background.
Child-protection authorities said the mother had shown signs of postnatal depression earlier this year, but there had been no signs of violence.
Schlosser lived at the apartment with other family members, including her two older daughters.
The girls, aged 6 and 9, were at school and their father was at work when police arrived, Officer Duke said.
Texas Child Protective Services was called to the home in January after Schlosser was seen running down the street from her apartment, with one of her daughters, then 5, bicycling after her, authorities said.
When police and child protection officers arrived, the child told them her mother had left her then six-day-old baby sister alone in the apartment.
Schlosser appeared at the time to be suffering from postnatal depression and seemed to be having a psychotic episode, said Marissa Gonzales, a child protection spokeswoman.
At the time Schlosser was hospitalised for a few days. Her other two daughters were released to their father, who told authorities Schlosser had been acting strangely since the birth of the third child.
Once she was released from the hospital, Schlosser agreed to seek counselling and see a psychiatrist, Ms Gonzales said.
Caseworkers continued to visit the family through the spring and summer, and the case was closed August 9.
"There were never any indications of violence with this family," Ms Gonzales said. "The children had always been healthy, happy and cared for."
Ms Gonzales said child protection officers were interviewing Schlosser's other children and would talk to the father before deciding whether to remove the children from the home.
Neighbours said she seemed to be a loving, attentive mother.
Dena Livingston, 43, said she saw Schlosser making her rounds with the stroller on Monday. She saw her on Friday waiting with her baby outside the school the older girls attend.
"She didn't give off like she was in a distant world or didn't care about the baby," Ms Livingston said.
She was charged with murder after the child died in hospital on Tuesday.
Authorities found Dena Schlosser, 35, and her fatally injured 11-month-old baby after the child's father called a day-care centre and asked them to check on his wife and daughter in the Dallas suburb of Plano.
Schlosser sat calmly in the living room when officers arrived. Her clothes were covered in blood and the baby lay in her crib in a back bedroom.
Schlosser told police she was responsible for the baby's injuries but declined to elaborate, police said.
They did not say whether investigators recovered a knife or another weapon.
"It doesn't appear to be accidental. Both arms were completely severed," police officer Carl Duke said. "She was not talking when she left here. She was very quiet, subdued."
Plano police said the child's injuries were horrifying.
"I've never had to face anything like this before," said Detective Bryan Wood. "And, frankly, I'd never want to. My sympathies go out to the family, and to the first responders on the scene."
After the father's call, day-care workers called the police-fire emergency number and an operator then phoned the mother.
The operator asked Schlosser if there was an emergency, according to audiotapes obtained by Dallas-Fort Worth TV station KDFW. Schlosser calmly responded: "Yes."
"Exactly what happened?" the operator asked.
"I cut her arms off," Schlosser replied, as the hymn He Touched Me played in the background.
Child-protection authorities said the mother had shown signs of postnatal depression earlier this year, but there had been no signs of violence.
Schlosser lived at the apartment with other family members, including her two older daughters.
The girls, aged 6 and 9, were at school and their father was at work when police arrived, Officer Duke said.
Texas Child Protective Services was called to the home in January after Schlosser was seen running down the street from her apartment, with one of her daughters, then 5, bicycling after her, authorities said.
When police and child protection officers arrived, the child told them her mother had left her then six-day-old baby sister alone in the apartment.
Schlosser appeared at the time to be suffering from postnatal depression and seemed to be having a psychotic episode, said Marissa Gonzales, a child protection spokeswoman.
At the time Schlosser was hospitalised for a few days. Her other two daughters were released to their father, who told authorities Schlosser had been acting strangely since the birth of the third child.
Once she was released from the hospital, Schlosser agreed to seek counselling and see a psychiatrist, Ms Gonzales said.
Caseworkers continued to visit the family through the spring and summer, and the case was closed August 9.
"There were never any indications of violence with this family," Ms Gonzales said. "The children had always been healthy, happy and cared for."
Ms Gonzales said child protection officers were interviewing Schlosser's other children and would talk to the father before deciding whether to remove the children from the home.
Neighbours said she seemed to be a loving, attentive mother.
Dena Livingston, 43, said she saw Schlosser making her rounds with the stroller on Monday. She saw her on Friday waiting with her baby outside the school the older girls attend.
"She didn't give off like she was in a distant world or didn't care about the baby," Ms Livingston said.
