“I spoke to her for a minute. I told her, ‘I’m not sure what this is all about, but apparently it’s God’s will that you leave this world; perhaps we can talk about it later.’ And then I set my hand on her head, put the knife under her chin like this, and I just . . .” Pausing in his monologue, Lafferty uses his manacled hands to matter-of-factly demonstrate how he pulled the razor-sharp butcher’s knife so forcefully across Erica’s neck that he very nearly decapitated her; afterward, all that held the baby’s head to her tiny body were a few thin shreds of skin and tendon.
