Less than six months after a state mental hospital ruled the
woman accused of killing her 19-month-old daughter in November 2008
mentally capable of withstanding trial, San Benito Judge Steven
Sanders ruled her competent and restarted the criminal proceedings
after a court date Thursday.
Less than six months after a state mental hospital ruled the woman accused of killing her 19-month-old daughter in November 2008 as mentally capable of withstanding trial, San Benito County Judge Steven Sanders ruled her competent and restarted the criminal proceedings after a court hearing last week.
The woman, Hollister resident Cheryl Busch, spent nearly nine months in Patton State Hospital after she had been admitted there March 24, 2010.
Busch is accused of shooting her daughter with a .357 Magnum on the family’s Shore Road property.
The criminal proceedings had been stayed during the time Busch spent at the mental hospital.
Busch will return to court June 23 for a trial setting. A preliminary date for a trial is scheduled for Nov. 28.
If convicted of homicide, she would face 25 years to life in prison. Homicide of a child is not on the list of prospective capital murder cases.
