Catherine Hoggle cleared to stand trial for alleged murder of her 2 children

Catherine Hoggle's phone calls from jail released

Catherine Hoggle has been charged with murdering her two children, Sarah and Jacob, and was just ruled mentally competent to stand trial.

WASHINGTON - More than a decade after her two youngest children disappeared, Catherine Hoggle has been cleared to stand trial for their murder. Now, new evidence is shedding light on a judge's decision to rule her mentally competent.

Catherine Hoggle ruled mentally competent

What we know:

Hoggle has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her two children, 3-year-old Sarah and 2-year-old Jacob. On Wednesday, Judge James Bonifant ruled that Hoggle, who has schizophrenia, was fit for trial.

That ruling was based in part on recorded phone calls Catherine made from the Montgomery County Jail after she was arrested last summer. In the calls, Hoggle is heard telling her mother Lindsey that she could "anonymously" release the list of medications that Hoggle takes, "if you want," among other things.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Catherine Hoggle ruled competent to stand trial for children's murder

Lindsey Hoggle said that years later, she's still trying to figure out what happened to Sarah and Jacob.

"I spoke with Catherine with full knowledge that it was going to be repeated, that it was going to be recorded, and she knew that," Lindsey Hoggle said. "And that's why I get in trouble a lot. I'm going to push the envelope until I get the answer that I want. I want to know what happened to Sarah and Jacob."

The disappearance of Sarah and Jacob Hoggle

Hoggle Children Disappearance: 10 Years Later

FOX 5 takes a look back at one of the Washington, D.C. area’s most notorious missing persons cases — the tragic disappearance and murder of young Sarah and Jacob Hoggle

The backstory:

Hoggle was the last person seen with the children in 2014. At the time, she told investigators that she'd dropped the children off at daycare or with friends, but those claims were never verified, and the children were never found.

She was charged with the children's murders years ago. At the time, however, Judge Bonifant ruled her unfit for trial. By law, Hoggle must be capable of assisting in her own defense.

Hoggle was admitted to a psychiatric facility, but her mental health improved enough for her to be released to a halfway house over the summer. That's when Montgomery County Police arrested her again on new murder charges.

Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy he thinks "Judge Bonifant's analysis was spot on."

McCarthy also used text messages from Hoggle to show proof of her mental state.

"Those text messages and those phone calls told us what the functioning ability of Catherine Hoggle is right now.

Hoggle's attorney David Felsen said that her mental health has improved. 

"Do I agree that she has made progress? Yes," Felsen said. "Catherine has been forthright, honest, done everything that every doctor has ever asked her to do since 2014. She is not malingering. She has tried to get better."

When is Catherine Hoggle's trial?

What's next:

Hoggle will be back in court in two weeks for a status hearing about her case. A date for her murder trial has not yet been set.