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A judge has ruled that a Kearns woman accused of abandoning her newborn daughter in a trash can in 2014 is mentally incompetent and will remain so into the foreseeable future.
Alicia Englert's attorneys argued during a hearing earlier this month that the 25-year-old woman has a low IQ and that any additional efforts to restore her competency would be in vain, and likely unconstitutional.
But prosecutors claim it is too soon to give up on making Englert competent to stand trial.
Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills ruled Tuesday that Englert is unrestorable.
Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Robert Parrish said Wednesday he plans to file a motion that gives the judge other options, including treatment from a private therapist or experts not associated with the Utah Department of Human Services and the Utah State Hospital.
Parrish had argued at a Jan. 11 hearing that previous restoration efforts for Englert consisted only of a two-hour training aimed to teach her more about the legal system.
But defense attorney Josie Brumfield told the judge: "Her IQ and reasoning and memory is never going to change. It is what it is. She can parrot things back, but no amount of additional training for this particular person is going to correct that issue."
In August 2014, a neighbor heard crying and found the newborn in a trash can outside Englert's family home, according to court documents.
Police have said Englert told them she did not know she was pregnant until she gave birth, and that she did not want the baby.
The child was placed in state custody.
Englert has been free on bail and is living with her parents.
A review hearing is set for Sept. 25.