ROCKVILLE, Md. — The judge granted the prosecution's motion for a new psychiatrist to assess whether or not Catherine Hoggle is competent to stand trial for the murder of her two children.
She's accused of murdering her two young children Jacob and Sarah Hoggle, nearly five years ago, who have never been found.
Hoggle is confined to the state mental hospital now. But if she's still there in September, under state law, prosecutors will likely have to drop the murder charges against her.
The deadline comes about five years after Hoggle's children disappeared.
If someone is still incompetent five years after being charged with a felony, Maryland law requires the charges be dropped.
"At some point you can't bring a person who can't defend themselves to trial," said David Felsen, Hoggle's lawyer. "And that's where we are in this case."