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Mom who allegedly killed daughter appears in court

Posted at 6:37 AM, Aug 13, 2012
and last updated 2012-08-13 12:28:47-04

A West Jordan mother was in court Monday morning to face charges that she murdered her own daughter.

Mary Hansen has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors say Hansen shot and killed her 18-year-old daughter Virginia before turning the gun on herself last March.

According to police, Hansen said the shooting was part of a suicide pact with her daughter.

Neighbors say the mother and daughter were very close and worked as one unit. They say the pair had issues though, an anxiety disorder that kept them inside and afraid to leave the house.

Hansen survived the alleged suicide attempt and was booked into jail after recovering in the hospital.

Friends say Virginia dropped out of school about four years ago and suffered by agoraphobia. They say Hansen also had a fear of going outside.

Shortly after the shooting, friends said they knew the mother and daughter had problems, but then never expected something like this to happen.

"That wasn't the person that I knew," said Julia Hoodman, Hansen's friend. "That's not the person who came out with us from California and that's not the person that my daughter went to school with from third grade onward."

Court records show Mary Hansen owed thousands of dollars in back taxes.

Hansen will is expected back in court in September.

Related:
Woman suspected of killing daughter in alleged suicide pact charged
Family friends remember teen killed in murder-attempted suicide
Suspect in murder-suicide attempt booked into jail