Saturday, February 06, 1999
Mom ordered to stay away from abandoned baby
BY SHEILA McLAUGHLIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — Deborah Mackey was barred Friday from seeing the infant daughter she is accused of trying to kill while court officials work to evaluate Ms. Mackey's sanity.
In an unusual move, Butler County Juvenile Judge David Niehaus took it upon himself to issue an order prohibiting Ms. Mackey from having any contact with the child, Holly Ann.
“It was brought to our attention that the mother was released on bond and it was not a condition of her bond to stay away from the child,” Juvenile Court Director Rob Clevenger said.
Ms. Mackey was not at the hearing.
Ms. Mackey, 38, of Liberty Township, was released from jail Wednesday after her mother posted a $50,000 cash bond. Her freedom prompted Warren County officials to urge the Butler County Children Services Board to to keep Ms. Mackey away from Holly Ann.
Even though the agency is supervising custody of Holly Ann, officials there said they had no authority to interfere with visitation. That's because Judge Niehaus had granted temporary custody of Holly Ann to her father.
Warren County officials were happy with the ruling.
“It appears that the system worked,” Warren County Prosecutor Tim Oliver said.
The infant, who suffers from a deadly birth defect unrelated to her abandonment or birth six weeks early, remained in serious condition at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Dayton.
In Warren County on Friday, Judge P. Daniel Fedders ordered psychological examinations to determine Ms. Mackey's mental capacity.
The evaluations will help the judge decide whether Ms. Mackey is competent to
stand trial and whether she was suffering from any mental defects Dec. 14, when, prosecutors say, she buried her child under paper towels in a trash can at Ample Industries in Franklin.
Depending on the reports, Ms. Mackey could change her plea to not guilty by reason of insanity, said her court-appointed defense lawyer, Don Oda II.
Ms. Mackey has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, attempted involuntary manslaughter and child endangering. Trial is tentatively set for March 11.
“The question that is on everybody's mind since this happened is how could something like this happen,” Mr. Oda said. “The only people that are going to be able to tell us are the experts.”
No dates have been set for the evaluations. A doctor at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Butler County will examine Ms. Mackey for the prosecution. Kenneth Manges, a forensic psychologist from Cincinnati, will evaluate her for the defense.
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