A two-day competency hearing began Monday morning, in Rockville, Maryland, to determine whether Catherine Hoggle can stand trial for murder charges in the 2014 disappearance of her two children.
Nicole Johnson, a forensic psychiatrist with the state psychiatric hospital Clifton T. Perkins, is testifying that after examining Hoggle, she believes she is still incompetent to stand trial and still poses a danger to herself and others.
However, Dr. Christiane Tellefsen, a psychiatrist hired by the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, opined that Hoggle is competent to stand trial in 2025, despite finding her incompetent when she first evaluated her in 2019.
”She’s not psychotic anymore. She’s rational,” Tellefsen told Circuit Court Judge James Bonifant. “She’s, generally speaking, fine.”
Johnson reiterated that Hoggle’s diagnosis was schizophrenia. She said during her Aug. 28, 2025, 90-minute evaluation of Hoggle, she did not experience any hallucinations, but demonstrated delusions and disorganized thinking.
Montgomery County prosecutors say Hoggle was the last person seen with 3-year-old Sarah and 2-year-old Jacob, before they vanished on Sept. 7, 2014.
Johnson testified Hoggle’s delusions include a belief that State’s Attorney John McCarthy and the children’s father, Troy Turner, are breaking the law in an attempt to prosecute her. Hoggle told her Turner “tried to punch her,” during a previous court appearance, even though Turner was in the gallery of the courtroom.
At issue is whether Hoggle is able to assist in her own defense in 2025 following her reindictment in July. Hoggle has been housed and treated at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center in Jessup, where the doctors consistently said that she is not competent to stand trial.
Johnson told the judge that although Hoggle is able to hold conversations, her inability to stay on track would interfere with her ability to assist in her own defense.
However, Tellefsen told the judge she believes Hoggle is competent to stand trial, and has had sophisticated discussions with her parents and others about defense strategies.
“There’s nothing psychotic about any of this. There’s tension all the way around,” Tellefsen said, adding that any emotional distress or anxiety Hoggle is demonstrating is “reality based.”
Charges dismissed, refiled
On Nov. 30, 2022, Bonifant dismissed Hoggle’s initial murder charges, citing a Maryland law that requires felony charges to be dropped if a defendant cannot be restored to competency within five years.
Hoggle was initially charged in 2014 with misdemeanor child neglect. Misdemeanor charges of parental abduction and obstructing an investigation were later added. She was repeatedly found incompetent to stand trial by Montgomery County District Court judges.
In September 2017, with the two children still missing, Hoggle was indicted on two counts of murder. After nearly five years of being found incompetent to stand trial, in November 2022, a judge questioned Hoggle to determine whether she could help in her own defense. The questioning did not include specifics about what happened to her children.
A second opinion on whether Hoggle is competent
Doctors at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center have always opined in periodic evaluations that she is incompetent to stand trial. After her 2025 reindictment, Montgomery County prosecutors requested and were granted the opportunity to have a psychiatrist of their choosing evaluate Hoggle’s competency, in addition to the doctors from Perkins.
In August 2019, Tellefsen, the former acting superintendent at Perkins hospital, who was hired by Montgomery County prosecutors, reached the same conclusion as state-appointed psychiatrists — that Hoggle was unfit to stand trial.
State’s Attorney McCarthy and Deputy State’s Attorney Ryan Wechsler have said Hoggle’s mental health has improved greatly recently. Discharge documents from Perkins Hospital showed that she is no longer symptomatic or delusional, leading to her release to a halfway house, where she stayed briefly in July 2025.
After hearing from both psychiatrists, Bonifant will determine whether Hoggle is competent to stand trial.
Children still missing
Jacob and Sarah Hoggle remain missing, and the circumstances surrounding their disappearance are still unsolved, according to Montgomery County police.
In August 2025, the police department said, “the investigation is ongoing.”
Police are asking anyone with information to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County website and click on the “www.p3tips.com” link at the top of the page or call 1-866-411-8477. There is a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest of a suspect. Tips may remain anonymous.
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