Judge Rules 11-Year-Old Incompetent To Stand Trial On Manslaughter

Skowhegan, ME – Judge Charles LaVerdiere of the Skowhegan District Court has proclaimed an 11-year-old girl not competent to stand trial at this time. Due to the accused being a minor, she is not being publicly named in reports.

The defendant was charged last year as a juvenile with reckless or criminally negligent manslaughter in the death of 3-month-old Brooklyn Grace Foss-Greenaway.

The decree was assessed on the state’s inability to meet the burden, demonstrating the juvenile as competent to proceed under the legal standards imposed by the Maine Juvenile Code.

However, this motion does not mean the child can’t be declared competent and tried in the foreseeable future.

The competency hearing was initiated at the behest of the girl’s defense attorney, John Martin. He urged that the child be evaluated to see if she understood how the court process functioned and if she knew the difference between right and wrong before ensuing with a criminal trial.

Arguments from both attorneys involved were submitted in writing to the judge, and Dr. Debra Baeder, the State Forensic Service’s Chief Forensic Psychologist, examined the girl and submitted a report on her findings. The document was sealed by the judge and Baeder was the only witness to testify at the competency hearing.

The judge was quoted in BDN Maine saying, “The court orders that the proceedings on the juvenile petition shall remain suspended and the court refers the Juvenile to the Commissioner of Health and Human Services for evaluation and treatment of the mental health and behavioral needs identified in the State Forensic Service examiner’s report.”

At this time, the State Forensics Service will reevaluate the child and remit a report to LaVerdiere within 60 days, again in 180, and again in 365 days to establish if future proceedings are possible in this case. If by the end of March 2014 the girl is still not found competent to stand trial, it will be difficult for the state to proceed with prosecution. Until then, the 11-year-old will remain in the custody of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

The goal of the state in this case isn’t necessarily to put the 11-year-old offender behind bars. They are more concerned she receives the proper treatment that will allow her to become a productive, law-abiding member of society.

http://youtu.be/nX9LTHJYfkk

The accused, the youngest person to be charged with manslaughter in the state of Maine in over 30 years, was 10 at the time of the alleged crime. Both the girl and her mother were babysitting the infant in their Fairfield home on July 8, 2012.

The infant was kept in the same room with the juvenile overnight. The following morning her mother called police to report the infant was not breathing, according to CBS News. Emergency workers arrived minutes later and found the child unresponsive.

http://youtu.be/5MW5HH0eBzg

Nicole “Nicki” Greenaway, Brooklyn’s mother, revealed that an official toxicology report disclosed the presence of medication in her daughter’s system – the same ADHD medication prescribed to the 11-year-old. There were also suspicious bruises on the infant’s nose and cheeks, indicative of suffocation.

Although Greenaway holds the mother of the 11-year-old somewhat responsible in the death of her child, the state is not intending to charge the mother in the death of Brooklyn, as there is insufficient evidence to pursue her criminally.