This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A competency evaluation for Kearns woman facing an attempted murder charge for allegedly tossing her newborn daughter in a trash can was delayed on Monday while the court waits for reports from two mental health experts.
An evaluation of Alicia Englert's mental health was ordered in October by 3rd District Court Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills. At a hearing Monday, an attorney for Englert said the evaluations had been done, but that it may take several weeks for the reports to be submitted.
The evaluation is designed to determine whether Englert, 23, suffers from any mental health condition or disorder that would impede her ability to understand the court process, the charges filed against her, or prohibit her from participating in her own defense.
The information will aid Hruby-Mills in deciding whether Englert, whose father contends she is developmentally disabled, can stand trial.
The next hearing in the case is set for Jan. 26.
Salt Lake County prosecutors have charged Englert with one count of first-degree felony attempted murder. Englert has not yet entered a plea to the charges. If she is convicted of the crime, she could spend the rest of her life in prison.
Court papers say Englert secretly gave birth in the toilet of the her parent's Kearns home in August and later told police she placed the 2-day-old girl in a neighbor's trash bin because she didn't want the baby.
The infant was placed in state custody. Last month, the court allowed Englert a "goodbye" visit with the child, although it isn't clear whether her parental rights to the child had been voluntarily surrendered or terminated by the courts.
Englert is free on $25,000 bail.