Former Cellmate of Paula Mendez Speaks Out About Her Mental State of Mind

Earlier this year, three children were found dead inside a home in DeQueen, Arkansas. Their mother, Paula Mendez, stands accused of this un-thinkable crime. Guards ushered a frail looking Mendez into a Sevier County courtroom Thursday to discuss her mental state of mind. Before the legal process can move forward, the court has to determine whether she is mentally competent to stand trial. A former cellmate of Mendez, who asked not to be identified, spent four days with her in the Sevier county jail. She says when Mendez wasn`t sleeping she was talking....talking not about that terrible day in January, but about her family. "She talks about her family, husband and kids like they are away from her like yesterday. It`s like time stopped for her. I think she doesn`t accept what she did. She doesn`t want to be alive...I`m sure of it. She wants to be dead." Tammy Love also served time with Mendez as a cellmate. Love believes that Mendez doesn`t realize what has happened. "She doesn`t understand herself, I really believe that....she can`t make sense of things," Love said while standing outside the courtroom. It appears that Mendez`s lawyers are putting an insanity defense together, claiming there`s no way a mother in her right mind would allegedly kill her children. The question that remains unanswered right now is if she mentally competent to stand trial. Mendez will go for a final mental evaluation in Little Rock in the next two weeks. There is one thing this cell mate is certain of - "I know she loves her kids too much."