House cleaner, psychiatrist say mom accused of killing teens took several meds, was depressed

TAMPA, Fla. – A house cleaner and a psychiatrist have testified that a Tampa woman accused of fatally shooting her two teenagers was prescribed a cocktail of psychiatric drugs and other medications and showed increasingly depressive and unusual behavior.

Julie Schenecker's defense attorneys began presenting their case on Friday.

Defense attorneys have said Schenecker suffered from bipolar disorder and depression. Michelle Frisco, a house cleaner, and Damien Obregon, a psychiatrist who treated Schenecker, were key defense witnesses to establish Schenecker's mental state. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Frisco says Schenecker did not seem the same after returning from rehab in November 2010.

Obregon says Schenecker's condition increasingly became depressive. He says she suffered side effects from a handful of different medications she was prescribed to combat bipolar disorder.