Father Urges Judge To Have Hoggle Kids' Mom Face Murder Charges

ROCKVILLE, MD — A decision on whether to drop murder charges against Catherine Hoggle in the disappearance of her two young children has been delayed a little while longer.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Robert Greenberg declined to issue a decision Tuesday after hearing arguments about Hoggle's ability to stand trial, but said he will provide a written opinion on his "momentous decision" in the coming days.

There are two key legal issues Greenberg must address: Could Hoggle be restored to competency after repeatedly being found mentally unfit to stand trial for her children's murders? And when does Maryland law mandate he drop the charges against Hoggle?

As the judge weighs the legal issues, Hoggle's estranged partner, Troy Turner, said that his children need justice. If Catherine "can get away with murdering Sarah and Jacob, then there is no justice in this (court) system," Turner said.

Under state law, there is a five-year limit on how long someone charged with a felony and deemed incompetent to stand trial can be held under medical care.

But when did the clock start ticking?

The Five-Year Deadline Debate

David Felsen, the lawyer representing Hoggle, has already filed a motion to dismiss all felony charges against his client, in which he argued that indefinite "commitments for treatment to restore competency to stand trial are unconstitutional."

According to Felsen, time expired on Jan. 10, 2020, five years from when Hoggle was first arrested on misdemeanor charges and deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy disagrees.

Citing Kimble v. State, McCarthy said the time period after which a court must drop criminal charges against a defendant should start from the date of the first incompetency filing.

In Hoggle's case, time expires on Dec. 1, 2022 — five years from when Hoggle was found unfit to stand trial after her misdemeanor charges were bumped up to felony charges.

"My position, and the position of my office, is that we have until Dec. 1, 2022. At that time, if Ms. Hoggle has not been restored to competency, the issue of restorability would be ripe. But it is premature to do that now," McCarthy said on Tuesday.

Competency And Restorability

Hoggle has spent the last five years in Clifton T. Perkins Hospital after Sarah, then 3, and Jacob, then 2, disappeared in 2014. Doctors treating the 33-year-old at the state's psychiatric facility have repeatedly determined that she is "not competent, dangerous, but restorable."

But on Tuesday, the case took a turn when the judge said a new report from doctors at Perkins concluded that Hoggle is now not restorable.

"(Perkins doctors) have no desire, to my knowledge, to lie or keep people institutionalized," Greenberg said.

"I can't speculate ... I have to make informed decisions ... and the only evidence I have is she is not restorable," Greenberg added.

McCarthy argued that restorability is not a "consensus issue," but is rather based on opinion.

"There is no consensus in the psychiatric community when someone becomes non-restorable," McCarthy said.

Even if Hoggle is "non-restorable" now, McCarthy says things can still change for Hoggle.

In the event that the court sides with McCarthy on the five-year deadline, Greenberg asked: "What's going to happen differently now and at the end of five years?"

McCarthy told Greenberg that he never had a case where a defendant who claimed incompetency has not been restored to competency.

"Sometimes it takes a long time," McCarthy said.

If the court dismisses Hoggle's case, prosecutors can appeal the decision. They can also request that Hoggle be civilly committed to the psychiatric facility.

A Father's Message To The Court

For the first time ever, Turner spoke in court about his two missing children.

For years, Turner has accused Hoggle of murdering Sarah and Jacob and of malingering so she can avoid trial on felony charges. He said she fully understands what's going on with her case and is only gaming the system.

"I feel like a lot of people are looking at this situation as a sad story, or I've heard some refer to it as a mystery. But there is no mystery. Catherine carried out a plan and murdered my children," Turner said.

"She robbed them of everything they were going to accomplish," Turner continued. "I can't even bury my babies."

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