By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A judge found yesterday the 25-year-old Centralia woman accused of decapitating her premature newborn is competent for further proceedings in the case.
[1]Laura Lynn Hickey
Laura Lynn Hickey was arrested in early March after police found the deceased baby in a Tupperware container under the kitchen sink of her trailer home.
Prosecutors allege Hickey – who was about halfway through her pregnancy – used a serrated knife to cut off the infant’s head as it was trying to take a breath after she unexpectedly delivered it into a toilet.
She said she didn’t think it was going to live and she didn’t want it to suffer, according to charging documents.
Hickey pleaded not guilty yesterday to first-degree murder.
She has been jailed since March 9, the arraignment put on hold while she underwent psychological evaluations at Western State Hospital.
Doctors were asked to look into issues of competency, insanity and diminished capacity.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt’s finding yesterday of competency is related to her ability to understand the proceedings and assist in her own defense.
His decision made it possible to move forward, with yesterday’s arraignment and the scheduling of a trial for next February.
Hickey lived in a fifth-wheel trailer at the Peppertree Motor Inn and RV Park in Centralia and has no income or assets, according to the attorney who represented her for her first court appearance.
She reportedly told police she used methamphetamine two days before the incident and had been awake since then. The state had previously taken three of her children out of her home.
Charging documents indicate an emergency room doctor estimated Hickey was about 21 weeks along in her pregnancy when he examined her after what she initially said was a miscarriage.
Her court-appointed lawyer, Kenneth Johnson, has said whether a fetus at that stage of development can survive outside its mother’s womb is an issue that will come up in this case.
Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer contends the autopsy indicated the fetus was born alive and was viable.
Hickey remains in the Lewis County Jail, held on $1 million bail.
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Read “Mental evaluation ordered for Centralia mother charged with killing baby” from Thursday March 17, 2011, here [2]
Read “Mother charged with killing newborn, held on $1 million bail” from Friday March 11, 2011, here [3]
Read “Centralia woman accused of decapitating her newborn” from Wednesday March 9, 2011, here [4]
Read “News brief: “Remains” found under sink after apparent miscarriage to be examined by coroner” from Wednesday March 2, 2011, here [5]