ERIE Homicide suspect says she is mentally ill

The woman wanted to use an ice crusher to dispose of a body, a witness said.
ERIE (AP) -- A woman charged with shooting a man and then stuffing his body into a freezer with the help of her long-ago fianc & eacute; said at a bond hearing that she has mental health problems.
Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong also said she wants $70,000 returned to her that prosecutors have said she paid to buy her ex-fianc & eacute;'s help.
Erie County Judge Shad Connelly didn't immediately rule Thursday on Diehl-Armstrong's request to get the money back -- or her request to get out of jail until her trial, which hasn't been scheduled.
The charges
Diehl-Armstrong, 54, of Erie, was ordered to stand trial last month on homicide, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse and other charges in the August death of her housemate, 45-year-old James Roden.
She has been jailed since Sept. 21, shortly after her former fianc & eacute;, William Rothstein, 60, told police about Roden's body. Rothstein told police he came forward because he was uncomfortable with Diehl-Armstrong's plan to further dispose of the body using an ice crusher.
Diehl-Armstrong has always denied killing Roden, and on Thursday continued to blame Rothstein for Roden's death. She denied giving him $70,000 to help dispose of Roden's body. Instead, she said she gave Rothstein the money for safekeeping last spring because her house had been burglarized.
She told the judge she needs the money for jaw surgery. Erie county prosecutors have seized the money as evidence.
Diehl-Armstrong also tried to convince the judge that it would be safe to let her out of jail on bond even though she is manic-depressive and schizophrenic.
She called the problems "severe, very severe, but not violent" and told the judge she has taken "every type of medication that is appropriate. But even when I go off my medication, I am not violent."
Rothstein testified last month that he took Roden's body to his home and melted down the 12-gauge shotgun that Diehl-Armstrong had given him, scattering the pieces around Erie. He said he also got rid of the bed where he first saw Roden's dead body lying, repainted the room and took up the old flooring to clean the crime scene.
In November, Rothstein waived his right to a preliminary hearing and will stand trial on charges of abuse of a corpse, evidence tampering and conspiracy. He remains free on bond.
According to court records, this is the second time Rothstein is accused of helping a friend hide evidence used in a murder. Rothstein was a witness in the 1979 retrial of Louis Allessie, a friend, who was charged in a February 1977 murder. Rothstein told jurors he helped get rid of the gun used in the killing, and he was granted immunity for his testimony.
Prosecutors have said Rothstein will be prosecuted in the Roden case despite his cooperation.
Judge Connelly said he won't rule on Diehl-Armstrong's requests until her attorneys and District Attorney Brad Foulk file written arguments next week.