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Attorney offers 'explanation' as to why Oviedo mom may have killed daughter

OVIEDO, Fla. — There's no way to justify why a parent would kill her own child, but an attorney told Channel 9 on Monday about the traumatic event that may have caused an Oviedo mother to eventually snap and allegedly shoot her teenaged daughter.

It's been one week since Sujatha Guduru allegedly shot and killed her 17-year-old daughter, Chetana Guduru, before turning the gun on herself in a botched suicide attempt.

Guduru's attorney told Channel 9 his client witnessed a murder 12 years ago in Houston and has been struggling with mental illness since.

"Devastating would be an understatement to describe the affect that that had on Miss Guduru," said defense attorney Brian Bieber.

Family and friends say Guduru loved her daughter with all her heart and they were shocked to learn of the fatal shooting.

Bieber said there is no indication that there was any violence between Guduru and her daughter leading up to the shooting.

He told Channel 9 in an exclusive interview that Guduru was working at a Walgreens when an armed robber shot a security guard in the head.  She was only a few feet away when the man lost his life, Bieber said.

Guduru's family said she already had mental health issues and that after the shooting she was never the same.

"Let's be clear; Miss Guduru's mental illness is not an excuse for what happened, it's an explanation for what happened," Bieber said.

Bieber said traumatic events can still impact people much later in life.

Guduru's family said the 44-year-old had been seeing a psychiatrist, taking medication and was even hospitalized a few times but never showed a sign she would try to kill herself or someone else.