Criminal proceedings against a Kerala woman, who was charged with murder her two best friends Milpitas, northern California, in August, have been stayed after the defence lawyer raised concerns about her mental fitness to face trial.
Anila Baby, 32, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the double homicide case. When police arrested her on August 28, they described her as incoherent and unable answer questions.
On Saturday morning, defence attorney Shawn George appeared before Judge Megan Piano of Mental Health Court - Department 24 and invoked Section 1368 of the California Penal Code to raise concerns about Anila's mental competency.
Reports revealed that the prosecution did not object to the defence's motion. Following this Anila was directed to the Santa Clara County Superior Court's mental health calendar, where two medical specialists will evaluate her mental competency and submit their reports.
Ahead of the hearing, Defence lawyer Shawn George released a statement on Thursday, saying, "Based on my in-person conversations with my client, I have doubts as to my client’s competency to stand trial. After my client is evaluated for competency, we will come back to court to address this issue based on the evaluators’ reports."
On August 28, she strangled and stabbed Ann Mary Mathew, 35, at her home in San Jose between 10.30 amd and 11.40 am. Around one-and-a-half hours later, she rammed another friend, Anjana Hari, with her SUV in an apartment complex parking lot in Milpitas.
Anila who drove off after the murders was arrested the same day from a Walgreens parking lot. She now faces 50 years to life imprisonment if she is convicted.
The next hearing is scheduled for December 18.
