A woman who killed her baby daughter in 1986 and who is now accused of stabbing her 86-year-old mother in the victim’s Otay Mesa home is not competent to stand trial and will be sent to a state mental hospital for treatment, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Lorenza Delgadillo Penguelly, 54, faces life in prison if convicted of attempted murder, assault and elder abuse in the October 2011 attack on her mother, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
After reviewing a doctor’s evaluation of the defendant, Judge Frederick Maguire found that Penguelly doesn’t understand the charges against her and cannot assist in her own defense. Penguelly will remain at Patton State Hospital until her competency is restored.
Penguelly was arrested shortly after 6:30 a.m. Oct. 17, 2011, at the apartment she shared with her mother in the 1100 block of 25th Street, just south of Coronado Avenue.
Paramedics took the victim to a hospital to treat puncture and slash wounds to her head, face, arms and hands. She survived.
The motive for the attack was unclear.
In September 1986, Penguelly hurled her 5-month-old daughter into San Diego Harbor, drowning the infant. Her then-attorneys argued that acute mental illness prompted the infanticide, and Penguelly eventually pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. She was sentenced to six years in prison and was treated at a state mental hospital before being released.
–City News Service
