Spanish to English Social Sciences History sociology, early 20th century Puerto Rico

Newspaper article, 1905, Puerto Rico, about a woman convicted of infanticide. It was much debated in the press whether she was a criminal or insane, since her crime did not make sense, i.e., the motivation was not clear.

"Puede darse el caso de una mujer despiadada que quiera ocultar su deshonra y que obcecada por la idea de salvar su falta, trate de hacer desaparecer las pruebas de su desliz. Pero una mujer que ya tuvo otro hijo, y una mujer de la clase de Luisa que no tiene la concepción clara del honor, no se explica sin **acometidas perplejas,** vacilantes, lllenas de detalles histeriformes, impulsivos a cometer crimen tan horrendo."

If I am reading this correctly, they are saying that she must have been insane, perhaps temporarily; that the only way to explain her behavior is that she had some sort of strange, hysterical episode that impelled her to commit her crime.

Am I understanding this correctly? What's your reading? Either way, how can I express this in English, bearing in mind that the language should be appropriate to 1905?