Ruling delayed on insanity defense for Maryland mother accused of killing her 2 children who disappeared in 2014
Attorneys for Catherine Hoggle, a Maryland woman charged in the disappearance and presumed deaths of her two young children, are seeking an insanity defense in the more-than-decade-old case.
A Montgomery County judge was expected to rule Thursday on whether they can pursue a Not Criminally Responsible defense, Maryland's equivalent of an insanity plea. However, the ruling was delayed after her attorneys filed a last-minute motion at midnight.
Hoggle is accused of killing her two children, Sarah and Jacob Hoggle, in 2014. Their bodies have never been found.
For nearly a decade, Hoggle was ruled incompetent to stand trial. Last year, a judge determined she was competent, and her trial date was set for this October.
However, last week, Hoggle's public defenders asked the court to allow the Not Criminally Responsible plea.
CBS News Baltimore has learned this type of plea is usually filed within the first 15 days of a case. Since Hoggle's case started last December, the request is late.
Her defense was asked to explain why they filed late during Thursday's court hearing, but they did not. Instead, they filed a new motion at midnight, which did not give prosecutors enough time to review or respond ahead of the hearing.
Hoggle's next court appearance is now scheduled for Aug. 20. Her trial date remains set for October.
The disappearance of Sarah and Jacob Hoggle
Sarah and Jacob Hoggle were 2 and 3 years old, respectively, when they went missing, along with their mother, in September 2014.
The children's father, Troy Turner, reported them all missing, and Hoggle was found days later in a nearby town. Police said she refused to tell them where the children were.
Hoggle was initially arrested and charged with neglect and abduction, both misdemeanors. She was sent to a state-run psychiatric hospital for treatment.
Then, in 2017, she was indicted on murder charges, but a judge ruled she was incompetent to stand trial and imposed continuing court-ordered treatment.
History of mental illness
Hoggle's attorney, David Felsen, has long said she suffers from severe mental illness. She has a history of schizophrenia and was treated with antipsychotic medications after her arrest.
The children's father also previously acknowledged Hoggle's mental illness, saying she was acting erratic and paranoid before the disappearance.
He told The Associated Press in 2014 she had started showing signs of psychosis and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. But he later claimed she was feigning incompetency.
Hoggle was released from the state-run psychiatric hospital just weeks before she was rearrested on two counts of first-degree murder last year. She was ordered to remain at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital in Jessup, Maryland.
