BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- A Bloomington woman accused of trying to drown her newborn baby daughter in the toilet of a homeless shelter has been deemed unfit for trial.
At Tonya McKee's fitness hearing Wednesday morning the judge found in favor of a doctor's report confirming that McKee suffers from Huntington's disease.
37-year-old McKee seemed confused and paranoid as she incoherently stammered through her statements before the court.
McClean County Assistant Public Defender Carla Barnes said Huntington's is a degenerative disease from which McKee will not likely recover.
The judge found a doctor's report to be accurate, stating McKee is deteriorating mentally and is incapable of assisting in her own defense if she goes to trial.
"It went very well for Tonya," said Barnes. "Today the court found her unfit for trial, so that means the next step will be she is transported away from the McClean County jail where she will go into the services of DHS and receive better treatment."
The Department of Human Services will most likely send McKee to McFarland Mental Health Center in Springfield.
If she is not declared fit within one year, the court will most likely continually decline a trial.
Our news partners at the Pantagraph tell us McKee's daughter is in good health. She is currently in foster care.
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