Woman to stand trial after mother, 82, found dead in wheelchair
BATON ROUGE, La. -- A state judge has ruled a 55-year-old Baton Rouge woman is now competent to stand trial on a manslaughter charge in the 2014 death of her 82-year-old mother.
Police have said Bessie Looney was found dead amid deplorable conditions, sitting naked in a wheelchair in her home and covered with infected bedsores. Daughter Joleslie Looney and her 19-year-old daughter Lauren Looney are both charged with manslaughter in the death of Bessie Looney.
The Advocate reports state District Judge Mike Erwin found Joleslie Looney incompetent to proceed in February due to her depression, and she was sent later to the state mental facility in Jackson.
Erwin on Monday found her competent at a sanity review hearing after mental health professionals reported her competency to assist her attorneys had been restored.