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Doctor: Schaffhausen 'Sane' At Time Of Murders

HUDSON, Wis. (WCCO) - On the fifth day of the Aaron Schaffhausen murder trial, a court-appointed medical expert provided jurors with disturbing details of the last moments of Schaffhausen's three daughters: Amara, Sophie and Cecilia.

Dr. Ralph Baker testified that Schaffhausen knew right from wrong when he took the lives of his daughters.

"The next thing he knew, he had her neck in his hands and he was strangling her," Baker said.

He says when Schaffhausen realized Cecilia wasn't dead, the other girls came inside the home. That's when admitted to killing them to Baker.

"He went into the kitchen and got a knife, and he told me [he] cut the throats of all three children," he said. "After he cut their throats, he was shocked and very upset to find so much blood."

Schaffhausen's mother, Susan Allen, also took the stand and described her son as a little boy with big problems. He didn't connect with adults and had very few friends.

"He was a sad little boy," Allen said. "He was our challenge."

Allen claims her son has had mental issues since he was young. She talked about her mental illness, and that a relative on her side of the family.

Schaffhausen's father, Roger, said their relationship got better when Aaron became an adult and a father. He showed never-before-seen pictures of his son and grandchildren together. He says he son loved his children, but fought depression.

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