Judge: Utah mom accused of abandoning baby not competent

A judge has ruled that a Utah woman accused of leaving her newborn baby to die in the trash cannot have her competency to stand trial restored because her intellectual disability is too severe.

Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills sided with attorneys for 25-year-old Alicia Englert of Kearns in her Tuesday ruling.

Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Robert Parrish says he plans to file a motion giving the judge options to restore Englert’s competency. But defense attorney Josie Brumfield told Hruby-Mills that Englert’s reasoning and memory ability is not going to change.

Authorities say Englert abandoned her infant daughter in August 2014 and that the baby would have died if she wasn’t found. The child recovered and was placed in state custody.

A review hearing is scheduled for September.