Mom Of Missing Hoggle Kids Won't Get Separate Mental Evaluation

ROCKVILLE, MD — A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge has denied prosecutors' request that a separate state evaluation be conducted on Catherine Hoggle, the mother indicted for the murder of her two children.

The decision comes several weeks after the court found Hoggle to be, once again, incompetent to stand trial. She has spent nearly five years getting treatment at a state psychiatric facility.

Thirty-two-year-old Hoggle — who was indicted on murder charges in 2017 — is believed to be the last person to see her children Sarah and Jacob Hoggle. Sarah and Jacob were two and three when they disappeared in September of 2014. Since their disappearance, Hoggle has been at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital in Jessup.

At a competency hearing in March, prosecutors asked Montgomery Circuit Judge Robert Greenberg to allow a doctor of their choosing to evaluate Hoggle.

Hoggle's attorney, David Felsen, said he was surprised by the state's request.

"There's no authority for the state to pick a doctor to do an evaluation. And that's what they asked for," Felsen said.

Last week, Greenberg denied prosecutors' request for a separate evaluation.

Hoggle's doctors at Perkins have repeatedly said she is unable to stand trial. Until she can face trial, the judge will not allow her to be interrogated about the fate of her children.

Troy Turner — Hoggle's estranged partner and the father of Sarah and Jacob — said it is necessary for the state to conduct a separate evaluation. He also said that the report about Hoggle's ability to stand trial says more about Perkins' incompetence to treat her.

"This whole process, and the way the system is set up, it's more than just frustrating — at times, it's even shocking," Turner said after learning about the judge's decision.

Hoggle's next competency hearing is on June 10.

Family members ask anyone in the Clarksburg area who may have seen Sarah and Jacob to message the Facebook page, call or text (301) 549-9044, or submit a tip on the website www.findsarahfindjacob.com. Tips can be made anonymously.

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