A Westminster woman indicted in the March 2023 beating death of her husband has been found incompetent to stand trial. On Tuesday, Gail Joy D’Anthony, 76, appeared in Carroll County Circuit Court for a second competency hearing in front of Judge Fred Hecker. The judge ordered D’Anthony to be sent to a hospital for further evaluation, based on the findings of a Maryland Department of Health .
A judge has ordered a competency hearing for Gail Joy D’Anthony, 76, of Westminster, whose trial for the March murder of her husband is set to begin Jan. 8. During a hearing Wednesday, Carroll County Circuit Judge Brian DeLeonardo scheduled the competency hearing for Jan. 2, to allow time for D’Anthony to be evaluated by a mental health expert. DeLeonardo issued his decision after D’Anthony’s .
The process to determine an individual's competency to stand trial is long and full of bottlenecks. A state commission is reviewing how to improve that process.