ELKHART, Ind. – A judge has ordered a mental evaluation for an Indiana woman accused of abducting her two young children and smothering them.
Elkhart Circuit Judge Terry Shewmaker also entered a preliminary not guilty plea for 29-year-old Amber Pasztor of Fort Wayne during her initial hearing Wednesday on two counts of murder.
She's accused in the Sept. 26 killings of 7-year-old Liliana Hernandez and 6-year-old Rene Pasztor after their abduction from their custodial grandparents' home led authorities to issue an Amber Alert. The state is seeking a life sentence without parole.
The Elkhart Truth reports (http://bit.ly/2elh3Jh ) public defender Peter Soldato said in a request for the mental evaluation that Pasztor can't fully understand the legal proceedings or help prepare her defense. He also questioned whether she understood the seriousness of the charges.
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Information from: The Elkhart Truth, http://www.elkharttruth.com
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