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Montgomery County, MD – Katie Hoggle, 35, was released from Perkins Hospital on July 23rd, triggering a re-filing of first-degree murder charges, according to the Montgomery County State Attorney’s Office. Her release from the facility, a maximum-security psychiatric hospital in Columbia, Maryland, followed an eight-year period of civil commitment for mental health evaluation and treatment.
Hoggle was initially arrested on Friday, September 11, 2015, in Kent County, Maryland, after a multi-day search for her two young children, Jacob (3) and Lily (2). The children were found deceased two days later, buried in a wooded area near Loch Raven Reservoir in Baltimore County. Local police in Kent County confirmed the initial arrest.
David Felsen, Hoggle’s attorney, stated that she continued to receive medical treatment and remained under supervision while residing in Kent County, adhering to the terms of her civilian admission order. Felsen intends to seek her release and a dismissal of the charges.
“We believe that incarceration is inappropriate, given the eight years she spent held under a mental disability ruling awaiting trial,” Felsen stated.
State Attorney Follows Through on 2022 Pledge
Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy publicly committed in 2022 to re-filing charges against Hoggle should she ever be deemed fit for release from Perkins Hospital. He stated, “Provided that I am state attorney, I intend to re-charge her with two counts of first-degree murder if she is ever considered safe enough to be released,” as reported by The Washington Post.
Court documents suggest the prosecution believes Hoggle, who once scored 135 on an IQ test, may have intentionally exaggerated the severity of her mental illness to avoid facing a jury trial. The defence has consistently argued that Hoggle was suffering from a severe mental breakdown at the time of her children’s deaths.
the case has drawn important public attention due to the tragic circumstances and the complexities surrounding Hoggle’s mental state. The re-filing of charges marks a new phase in the legal proceedings, perhaps leading to a criminal trial years after the initial incident.
