A 63-year-old woman arrested in August for the murder of her grandson has been deemed competent to stand trial.
Martha White, of Killearn Lakes, was arrested August 5th, 2014. She was found covered in blood and in possession of a bottle of wine and Xanax. Police say she had murdered her six-year-old grandson. She was quoted by police saying she was, “fed up” with her grandson’s mother, who White said had spent years torturing her.
Mental health experts assigned by her defense attorney determined White was mentally unfit to stand trial, describing her behavior as “delusional and psychotic.” Circuit court judge Frank Sheffield ordered her to undergo “competency restoration” in September of 2014.
Now, after four months in treatment at the Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, White has been re-evaluated. The evaluation shows that her mental state has improved enough for her to stand trial.
“At this point, we’ve set the case for case management for about 3 months from now, and the case is proceeding as it would in any other situation,” explained prosecuting attorney Jack Campbell.
He’ll see White, and her defense attorney, Stephen Been, in court again soon to begin trying the case.
