'She Killed My Children': Father Of Missing Hoggle Kids

ROCKVILLE, MD — Four years after the disappearance of Sarah and Jacob Hoggle, now 7- and 6-years-old, respectively, most questions remain unanswered, especially for the children's father, Troy Turner.

Jacob was last seen with his mother, Catherine Hoggle, on Sept. 7, 2014, in Darnestown or Clarksburg; Sarah was last seen with Hoggle on the morning of Sept. 8, 2014. Hoggle's family says she was mentally ill and was making plans to leave the area, so she told them she gave the young children to someone for safekeeping. On Sept. 12, 2014, Hoggle was found alone and arrested in Germantown; her children have not been seen since.

Hoggle was indicted on two counts of murder in their disappearance in 2017 and ordered held without bond at a state psychiatric hospital, where she remains after being declared unfit to stand trial.

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Turner recently spoke with WTOP on the four-year anniversary of his kids' disappearance, telling the station, "it doesn't get any easier with time."

Turner now believes Hoggle killed their children.

“She killed my children, and it hurts to say it every time I say it, but logically, that’s the only real conclusion you can come to if you actually look at it,” Turner told the station.

Hoggle will again appear before a judge in November to determine if she's competent to stand trial. Her attorney, David Felsen of Felsen & Sargent LLC, told WUSA Hoggle has been found unfit to stand trial in the past because doctors don't believe she is able to aid in her own defense.

“In Maryland, it’s basically a two-part test,” Felsen told the station. “The second part is that they have to be able to aid in their own defense. And it’s really that second part, that the court has found, as a result of the doctor’s reports, that Catherine has difficulty with.”

Prosectors have suggested Hoggle is malingering and they're building a murder case against her. Turner has maintained that Catherine is acting a part so she can avoid trial on the felony charges. On social media, Turner has said that Catherine tried at least eight times in one year to escape from her maximum security facility, either by tying bedsheets together or taking a security card from staffers.

Hoggle is a schizophrenic who reportedly refused to stay on her medication. Turner has said in interviews and on social media that Catherine understands her situation based on conversations with her and that she should be questioned in court about the children's fate.

SEE ALSO:

• Missing Hoggle Kids: Prosecutor's Case Dealt a Setback
• Missing Hoggle Kids: Is Mom 'Trying to Work System'?
• Missing Hoggle Kids: Mom Again Found Not Competent to Stand Trial
• Missing Hoggle Kids: Hope Alive One Year After Disappearance
• 'Mystery Must End' Says Missing Hoggle Kids' Grandmother

Ramon Korionoff, spokesman for the Montgomery County State's Attorney's office, told WTOP the murder charges against Hoggle have no statute of limitations and they will stay in place until she is deemed well enough to stand trial.

Until she can face trial, a Montgomery County judge will not allow Hoggle to be interrogated about the fate of the children. Her doctors at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital, the state psychiatric hospital where she has been in treatment for four years, have repeatedly said she is unable to assist in her own defense.

SEE ALSO:

• Missing Hoggle Kids: Mother Returns To Court Thursday
• Missing Hoggle Kids: Mother To Remain In Mental Hospital
• Missing Hoggle Kids: 2 Years With No Answers
• Dad of Missing Hoggle Kids: 'They Deserve to Come Home'

Police interviewed Catherine for more than 10 hours when she was first found, her mother, Lindsey Hoggle said. While she spoke with her daughter several times a day for part of 2015, she has not seen her since Catherine fled home with the children.

Turner said he hopes Hoggle is soon found fit to stand trial so he can finally learn the fates of children. But, in the meantime, Turner has only one goal in mind — to find his children and bring them home.

“They still deserve to come home and be loved, and shown that love and respect, and to be able to rest,” he told WTOP.

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.

»Photos of Sarah and Jacob Hoggle, courtesy of the FindSarahFindJacob Facebook page
Patch reporters Deb Belt and Cameron Luttrell contributed to this report