Maryland mom found competent to stand trial for 2014 deaths of her children
Catherine Hoggle, a Maryland mother with an extensive history of severe mental illness, has been deemed competent to stand trial on charges of killing her two children in 2014.
Hoggle was rearrested in August, weeks after she was released from a state-run psychiatric hospital. A grand jury reindicted her on two counts of first-degree murder, according to the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office.
A judge tentatively scheduled a hearing for Dec. 23, as attorneys and the judge determine when trial dates will be scheduled.
Hoggle has been ordered to remain at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital in Jessup, Maryland.
Catherine Hoggle's case
Catherine Hoggle's children -- Sarah and Jacob -- were ages 2 and 3, respectively, when they went missing in September 2014. They have never been found, and they are presumed to be dead. Hoggle also went missing around the same time.
The children's father reported them all missing. Hoggle was found days later, walking 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 the state-run psychiatric hospital for treatment.
Then, in 2017, she was indicted on murder charges. A judge ruled she was incompetent to stand trial and imposed continuing court-ordered treatment. Under state law, authorities had five years to restore her competency before the charges must be dismissed.
Her 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.
In 2022, a Montgomery County judge dropped the charges against her, citing the five-year time limit. Hoggle was ordered to remain involuntarily committed for psychiatric treatment because she was still considered a danger to herself or others.
Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said at the time that if she's deemed no longer a threat and released, he was prepared to charge her again with murder, CBS affiliate WUSA-TV reported.
"As long as I'm State's Attorney, it would be my intent that if she is judged to be safe to be returned to the community, the circumstances would be such that we would recharge her even if we have to revisit the issue of competency again," McCarthy said at the time.
The children's father, Troy Turner, has previously acknowledged Hoggle's mental illness, saying she was acting erratically and paranoid before the children's disappearance.
He told The Associated Press in 2014 that she had started showing signs of psychosis and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. But he later claimed she was feigning incompetency.
"Catherine Hoggle has murdered my children," he told CBS News Baltimore in 2017. "And I hope Sarah and Jacob get the justice they deserve ... that's what it needs to be about from beginning to end, getting justice for my babies."
When reached by WUSA for a statement following Hoggle's release, Turner said he is requesting privacy as his family continues to search for Sarah and Jacob.
