Doctor testifies Nachtman suffered mental health issues

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - During testimony Wednesday, doctors who examined Nicole Nachtman analyzed for the jury a jailhouse conversation the murder defendant had with her brother.

After being arrested for killing her parents, she seemed giddy even happy about her appearance.

"I actually like my hair now," Nachtman told her brother. 

During the call, she also asks about the family, asking how her grandmother was doing.

Her brother, Joseph Carey hesitated to answer.

"She's OK. Obviously, she was upset," explained Carey.

During the 18-minute conversation, Nachtman mentioned plans for her future.

"I was thinking once I get out of here I can get a job and I can get you guys some gift,s get you something nice," she said.

The conversations were considered bizarre behavior by Dr. Kathleen Heide, a licensed psychotherapist, who testified in court Wednesday.

"She's talking to him and she's laughing saying, 'I did it' and doesn't seem to grasp this is very serious," said Dr. Heide. 

After years of examining Nachtman's past, Dr. Heide said Nachtman suffers from severe mental illness.

Heide said years of mental abuse from Nachtman's mother pushed the defendant into a psychotic break.

"She says she killed her mother because she was afraid her mother was going to kill her. Again, it’s what I would call a delusion," said Dr. Heide.

Prosecutors have their own mental health experts that will challenge those findings. They say Nachtman is a cold-blooded killer who knew exactly what she was doing.