A judge ruled Wednesday that Catherine Hoggle is competent to stand trial for murder more than a decade after her two youngest children disappeared in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Hoggle, 38, is accused of killing 2-year-old Jacob and 3-year-old Sarah in September 2014. The children have never been found, and Hoggle wasn’t tried in the past because of her mental state.
Hoggle had no visible reaction when Judge James Bonifant made the ruling in a Rockville courtroom on Wednesday.
“Having schizophrenia does not automatically equate to being incompetent. The court’s focus at this point is on whether the defendant has sufficient present ability to consult with her lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding,” Bonifant said.
Troy Turner, Hoggle’s ex-partner and the father of Sarah and Jacob, said he hopes a future trial will finally give him answers about what happened to his two youngest children. Police have said Hoggle was the last known person seen with them.
“We’ve been trying to do this for a very long time, as you guys know,” Turner said to reporters after the hearing. “But at the same time, you know, we’re about to go through a murder trial for my two babies. And that’s what I don’t ever want anyone to lose sight of: This is still about my kids. In a perfect world, I want to know where my kids are and I want justice.”
Dr. Christiane Telefson, a forensic psychiatrist hired by the state’s attorneys office, told the court on Monday she believes Hoggle is competent to stand trial, understands the charges against her and can assist the defense in her case.
Telefson testified about her conversations with Hoggle and everything she used to come to that conclusion, including thousands of text messages and recorded phone calls.
According to testimony, Hoggle is allowed to have an iPad and has been sending text messages to Turner’s partner, a woman named Stephanie. Several people said on the stand that it’s a very odd relationship, since Hoggle is facing charges of killing two of her and Turner’s children.
“These kinds of conditions, they can change, and they’re fluid. Just like dangerousness is fluid, competency to stand trial can be fluid. But we’re at a point in time when, as Judge Bonifant pointed out in open court, it was inescapable when you read those posts of text messages. And the judge was referring to a few, but there are thousands of them,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy said after the ruling.
Several people said Hoggle realizes it’s an odd relationship, but both sides are getting something out of the relationship. News4 has not learned Stephanie’s last name, but according to testimony, there are hopes that Stephanie eventually will learn from Hoggle what has happened to the children.
Hoggle’s attorney, David Felsen, said Monday he doesn’t know how long Hoggle and Stephanie have been communicating or which woman first initiated contact.
Felsen maintained during the two-day hearing that his client is not competent and he said he remains concerned about her mental health.
Hoggle was previously ruled incompetent and was committed to a Maryland psychiatric facility even after charges were dismissed in 2022. Then, last summer, she was released from confinement when a hospital psychiatrist said Hoggle was not a danger to herself or others and had logical thoughts.
After the state’s attorneys office learned Hoggle had been released to a halfway house last July, they put her under surveillance and then ultimately arrested her again in early August after she was indicted by a grand jury.
In earlier testimony, Dr. Nicole Johnson, a forensic psychiatrist at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital, stated that Hoggle:
- has a psychotic disorder
- is a danger to herself and others
- has established a relationship with the new partner of Sarah and Jacob’s father
- struggles with her ability to understand the law and assist in her own defense
The state’s attorney said Hoggle describes herself as a “chameleon.”
Hoggle will remain at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital in Jessup until another hearing set to take place on Dec. 23.
A trial date has not been set yet.
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