Judge delays ruling on Catherine Hoggle’s competency to stand trial

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Eleven years to the day after two of her children went missing, Catherine Hoggle was back in a Montgomery County courtroom on Monday as lawyers argue whether she will ever be well enough mentally to stand trial for their murders.

Hoggle was rearrested earlier this summer and indicted on new charges after spending years in a state mental health facility, where she had been deemed incompetent to stand trial. 

READ MORE: Catherine Hoggle indicted by grand jury for the murders of her two children

What we know:

A judge on Monday postponed until December an in-depth hearing on the latest competency examination of murder suspect Catherine Hoggle.

Hoggle's attorney says the latest psychiatric evaluation reaffirms what has been determined repeatedly since her arrest 11 years ago — that Catherine Hoggle is incompetent to stand trial for the murder of her two young children, Sarah and Jacob. Her attorney asked Monday for the case to be dismissed, saying the state has not shared details of what it is prepared to prove in court.

"We asked for the mode, the manner, time, place and intention that they believe they’re going to be able to prove relative to these two counts. Because that would relate to, number one: the quality of the evidence. And number two, it would relate to whatever that charge is. Was it accidental? Was it intentional? Was it as a result of negligence?" said attorney David Felsen. 

What's next:

Felsen is also asking the court to release Hoggle from jail and place her back in a healthcare setting for the time being. That will be determined at a separate hearing later this month.

The backstory:

Sarah and Jacob Hoggle were 3 and 2 years old when they were last seen in September 2014. Catherine Hoggle also disappeared around the same time. Their father reported all three missing. Days later, Hoggle was found, but police say she refused to tell them the children’s whereabouts. They have never been found.