Sanity retrial for woman convicted of murder set for September

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – A sanity phase retrial for Tiffany Nicole Burney, 26, who was convicted of of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Daisy Mae Hayes, was scheduled for September.

Burney was convicted of killing her 74-year-old great-aunt in 2011, and a jury deadlocked 8-4 in favor of declaring the defendant sane at the time of the killing.

Deputy Public Defender Kevin Haughton told jurors that Burney was delusional and in a psychotic state when she shot Hayes, who was like a second grandmother to her.

According to Haughton, Burney was diagnosed with a form of schizophrenia, and claims she started hearing voices at the age of 11. She was first hospitalized for her mental illness at the age of 13.

Deputy District Attorney Marisa Di Tillio argued Burney was angry that she didn’t measure up to the rest of the family and decided to take it out on Hayes, who was considered the “heart” of the family.

“She (Burney) intended to kill,” Di Tillio told the jury.

According to Di Tillio, Burney fled the scene and called police a few days later after checking into a hospital.

Di Tillio also told the jury Burney had confessed to the killing and told police she was angry because “everyone was winning and I was losing.”