Maryland’s Catherine Hoggle case: Mom charged, kids still missing

two young children vanish without a trace it's almost impossible for two children to have just disappeared without somebody seeing something hours later their mother also goes missing it was very odd you don't see that in missing cases the first sign of any of them this bizarre security video that was something that really stood out about this case days of searching lead to a strange development their mother is found wandering the streets sneaking in buildings but the mysteries surrounding her odd behavior and her missing children have only deepened it's heart-wrenching some parents are missing one child and you're missing two the last sunday troy turner spent with his three kids was nearly perfect it was actually my oldest son's first soccer game ever a beautiful summer afternoon in montgomery county maryland we got snow cones and we went to the park for a couple hours the sun was out the kids were playing it was early september and it was like 80 degrees you know everyone was having a great time right afterwards troy had to go into work so he dropped his kids off and their mom catherine at her parents house i kissed all the kids um told them i loved them and then got in the car and drove to work troy and catherine hoggle had met years earlier at a bar in germantown where they both work were you boyfriend and girlfriend when you've had your first child well by the time the child came yes but when she got pregnant no so that was a surprise yes but a blessing yes definitely by 2014 the couple had three kids two boys and a girl the oldest was five sarah three and jacob two troy and catherine weren't married but raising their family together what was your relationship like with her i was committed to making it work when troy got off work that sunday night catherine asked him to stop at the grocery store it was after midnight before he finally made it home catherine was waiting for him outside she is actually sitting on the steps outside of the apartments when i get there was that odd uh yeah i thought so a little bit and what did she tell you she needed to go grab like a dr pepper real quick or whatever assuming his three kids were asleep inside and knowing catherine's father randy was spending the night troy took catherine on a quick store run like three minutes down street three minutes back he returned home exhausted and ready for bed normally i would have kissed them all good night i was just tired and selfishly in my mind i was thinking if i wake one of them up then i'm up so i just went ahead and went to sleep so you didn't check the rooms because it was just a long day right and there i had no reason to think there would be anything you know but the next morning when troy's five-year-old wakes him up he notices the house is eerily quiet i realized that as i walked through the house nobody's there except for myself and him catherine's father had left for work but where was catherine sarah and jacob so i go and i look out the window and the minivan's gone i open my drawer where i keep the keys in my wallet they're both gone are you panicked inside yes troy quickly gets his son ready for school then starts calling around looking for catherine i called her father and her mother to see if they knew where she was they both had no clue after putting his oldest son on the school bus troy calls 9-1-1 so he called 9-1-1 from the bus stop correct just then catherine drives up when she reappeared at the bus stop she was able to convince troy that the kids were fine they were at a daycare catherine tells troy she wanted him to sleep in so she brought their two youngest kids to a daycare something the couple had never done but had been considering was her story believable at the time at the time yes so you're thinking the children are at a daycare center yes but that afternoon when it came time to pick up sarah and jacob catherine claims she doesn't remember which daycare that's whenever i really started to go okay what's going on you know i just pulled the car i said what street is on she goes i don't know i said what's it called she said i don't know i said well give me the phone number and i'll call them she goes i don't have their number i see you mean to tell me you put our kids at a daycare you don't know the name where it's at a street name or have a phone number for it and she looks at me she says well they have my number she's taking you on a wild goose chase right at that point i called her mom troy learns catherine's mom is already searching all the daycares in town for the kids that was a huge red flag yes her mom knew something was up right catherine hoggle can't remember the location of the daycare where she claims she has left her two youngest children their father troy turner begins to panic you have to be sweating at this point at this point i start that's whenever i really started to go okay what's going on you know troy's sense of dread had deep underpinnings according to catherine's mother she'd battled mental illness for years troy says he was never told her family never came to me and told me about all the past issues initially i think a good time for that would have been when when they knew that we had a baby i think that's a good time to let someone know after the birth of their first child he claims he began to notice strange behavior there was that i was running around which i wasn't too there was a woman following us who wanted to raise the kids with me and take her life and then it became things like she would have me pull over and cover her mouth while she was talking to me by late summer troy says catherine seemed to be doing better but as a precaution he claims certain rules were in place rules he alleges catherine's parents agreed to she wasn't supposed to drive with the children she wasn't supposed to drive period she wasn't supposed to be alone with the kids period everybody's on board everyone knows the rules here right or so troy thought until that panic stricken monday afternoon when catherine claimed she took two of the kids to a daycare but can't remember where after leading him on a wild goose chase troy tells catherine they're going to the police station she said well hold on she goes we don't have to go she'll go ahead and take me to where the kids are catherine then gives troy an address to a daycare he heads over with her at some point in this journey they stop at the chick-fil-a yes she goes well i took my medication i need some caffeine sugar stay awake or whatever so i can give you directions when troy pulls into the chick-fil-a parking lot security video shows what happens inside she went to the restroom she said she was calling her mom to let her know we were going to get um the other kids and everything was fine phone records reveal catherine actually tried calling a cab from the restroom so she went to the bathroom and she was trying to make an escape right which i obviously didn't know at the time as the couple gets ready to leave catherine says she needs a refill i said okay fine i said i'll go ahead get the car started and let's go get the kicks security video shows catherine return to the counter but not for long as troy waits outside she just goes out a side door and disappears i walk back in she's nowhere to be found cops are called and converge on the chick-fil-a parking lot catherine's mother lindsey hoggle also arrives and gives troy the shock of his life she said she came jacob wasn't there last night panic turns to terror when troy learns his two-year-old son has actually been missing since the night before remember catherine and her kids had spent sunday afternoon at her parents home sometime during the day she borrowed her dad's car and left alone with jacob three hours later she returned with a bizarre story but without the little boy so she comes back three hours later without your son what is her excuse he's at a sleepover with my oldest child's friend two-year-olds don't go to sleep especially not with four and five-year-olds it makes no sense when troy returned home from work that night he assumed all three of his children were asleep in their beds it turns out they were not troy now knows when catherine and her father returned to the family's apartment sunday night jacob wasn't with them only sarah and his five-year-old son my oldest son knows for sure that she was there they went to bed together they hugged and at the same time it's not this delusional thing for him he knows jacob wasn't there he's able to articulate that to you oh yeah from day one no one knows exactly how or when sarah went missing cops say they do know catherine was lying when she claims she took the kids to daycare monday morning do you think she's playing a game with him at this point i think so i think she's she's a very convincing woman by that same monday evening a massive search was underway for jacob sarah and now their mom katherine initially did you think these children were alive and maybe being held somewhere that was our hope montgomery county police captain daryn frank believed fine catherine find jacob and sarah children weren't out wandering around the citizens of montgomery county would would call us immediately we knew catherine was the key we had to find her hundreds of complete strangers joined the search along with friends like mandy parks who troy hadn't seen in years i knew that troy needed me i knew that his children were missing and i knew that catherine had them local media starts airing that security video of catherine at that chick-fil-a just before she vanished for days it seemed all of montgomery county was involved in the search the community did their own searches the family conducted searches the police conducted searches i mean it really was the entire community christa brick covered the story for my mc media this really has to instill some panic in the community yeah there was definitely panic tens of thousands of acres are searched close to a million missing persons flyers handed out at one point the police were saying please check your own backyards they were asking businesses check your surveillance suddenly new surveillance video surfaces of catherine dressed in what looked to be the same clothes going in and out of a federal building how far from the chick-fil-a about a third of a mile if that this video is recorded around 4 30 in the morning 12 hours after catherine was caught on another camera ducking out of that chick-fil-a especially concerning for detectives catherine is alone sarah and jacob aren't with her we had strong suspicions that this was not going to turn out well three days into the search cops deliver grim news to troy detective reuben comes up to talk to me he goes tomorrow we're going to announce you know that this is a homicide investigation you thought they were still alive we still hadn't even found her yet but that was about to change five exhaustive days search teams scour montgomery county maryland for katherine hoggle and her two youngest children then finally a break in the citizen saw case and recognized her from the wanted posters montgomery county police captain daryn frank says while hiding out catherine tried to disguise her appearance we determined that she had cut her hair and did she have a missing person poster on her yes she did so she knew everyone was looking for her and her children absolutely but to everyone's disappointment sarah and jacob weren't with their mother i mean what happened to sarah jacob that's just that's what everyone wants to know with two of his three children missing troy had not stopped searching since catherine ditched him at a chick-fil-a you weren't sleeping no i went um there's a couple times i went five six days without sleeping at times i would fall asleep and wake up and feel guilty because i should have been looking for my kids instead of being selfish and sleeping even though cops were already calling it a homicide investigation troy was holding out hope that catherine would lead him to three-year-old sarah and two-year-old jacob i get the call to come into the police station and that was whenever i pleaded with her to tell me where the kids were she wouldn't despite her alleged mental health problems in the past troy says the mother of his three kids seemed very well aware of what was happening she spoke in a normal manner as if there was nothing completely like psychotic or anything like that and once catherine is found she matter-of-factly tells troy and detectives the kids are safe i walked in the room when they let me in and she said what are you doing here and i said well i'm trying to find my children. and she said well they're not with me they're with someone she trusted so she's saying that first she drops them off for a sleepover then she's saying she took them to a daycare now she is giving information and just saying that they're safe they're safe they're with someone but detectives never buy katherine's story based on all our interviews our investigation what we know about catherine what we know about how everything transpired we believe the children are dead detectives allege that sunday afternoon when katherine told her father she was taking jacob out for pizza she instead killed him then dumped his body they believe later that night either while troy was still at work or after he had gone to sleep she did the same to sarah that was something that really stood out about this case that you have two children go missing at least six hours apart by the hand of of the same person and shockingly captain frank doesn't think catherine was going to stop with sarah and jacob he believes she allegedly had murderous plans for the five-year-old next who knows if troy hadn't been at the bus stop the next morning what would have happened when catherine came back to the bus stop looking back troy now believes the same he claims while out searching for their missing kids that first day catherine freaked out when he gave their five-year-old to her mother lindsay hoggle she starts saying things like i don't trust her alone with the kids she drinks too much at the time troy had no idea why catherine would be opposed to letting her mom take their son there was no mistrust between her and her mom with the kids at any point that i knew of he now believes it's because catherine was hoping to finish what she had started and get rid of their oldest child as well i think she was going to at some point say hey look i'm going to take him to the bathroom or whatever and then we'll go get the kids and try to just take off with them because sarah and jacob's bodies weren't found initially catherine is only charged with a series of misdemeanors related to their disappearance and because of her mental state her time behind bars doesn't last long the doctor made an evaluation and made a recommendation catherine was sent to the perkins hospital for a further evaluation i think that whole process took a week or so in the weeks that followed being committed there was hope catherine would lead police to the children catherine did call me and request to speak to the police she wants to give an answer on these children but when the state's attorney tried to make it happen he was shot down by the judge the court has ruled and indicated that we're not going to be permitted to do that i think the family is is disappointed with that over the last three and a half years at hearing after hearing doctors deem catherine not competent to stand trial on the misdemeanor charges against her troy has been in court each time appalled by what he sees that was a complete act today she sounded nothing like that on any of our phone conversations or any other conversations i've heard that was an actor that was an actor they medicated her right before they came here you believe she's playing the system i don't just believe it she's told me so much as that she has explained to me her entire process troy isn't the only one who believes to some extent catherine is faking her mental illness in a surprising twist so does her mother she's very capable of being competent sooner rather than later she understands the situation the problem is she doesn't want to go to jail it's as simple as that this is lindsay hoggle after one of her daughter's competency hearings in 2015. so do you think that's having an impact on one moving forward with the case and how open she's being that fear of going to jail absolutely she told she told me that she made a a conscious decision after the last hearing for fear that she would be sent to jail catherine's lawyer says the allegations are ludicrous catherine has been evaluated numerous times and is being treated by state professionals they're not professionals that i hired they are state professionals to argue that after all this time someone who hasn't seen her would know better than trained medical professionals i think strange credulity on the third anniversary of his children's disappearance troy turner was outraged to learn that catherine's lawyer could have gotten the misdemeanor charges against her dropped the way that competency works in maryland an individual can only have misdemeanor charges pending against them for up to three years and if the individual's been in the hospital the entire time and not competent to stand trial her lawyer can move to dismiss those charges on the three-year mark attorney andrew friedman says that's why last year prosecutors moved to upgrade the charges against catherine to two counts of murder which will buy some more time a felony can be pending against a person who's not competent for up to five years right now in maryland it's possible after five years she could walk scot-free yes that's something that disgust and terrifies troy she could walk out of there in five years and my oldest isn't even old enough to protect himself at that point mentally physically anything will catherine be deemed competent to face a trial before it's too late and can she be convicted for murder for three and a half years the people of montgomery county maryland have never given up the search for jacob and sarah hoggle desperate to find the brother and sister dead or alive i never would have thought that three and a half years sorry i would have never thought that three and a half years later we would still be looking for the kids last september on the third anniversary of their disappearance troy turner resigned himself to the fact that his two youngest children are never coming home i have held out hope that something else may have happened as i think that any parent under these circumstances would but it has always been a faint hope in no uncertain terms he made clear who he believes is to blame for the deaths of sarah and jacob catherine hoggle has murdered my children and i hope sarah and jacob get the justice they deserve but the doors of justice are slowly closing with each passing year if catherine isn't ruled competent to stand trial within five years from the day she was charged with murder those charges could be dropped i can't you can't talk right now catherine's mother doesn't believe a murder trial will ever be necessary lindsey hoggle declined my request for an on-camera interview but by phone she dropped a bombshell at her grandkids you believe your grandchildren are alive and they are being held somewhere yes that's correct do you believe that they're safe with whomever they're with yes and you believe your daughter that she would not harm them that's correct lindsay is hoping these age progression photos from the national center for missing and exploited children will help bring her grandchildren home but montgomery county police captain daryn frank is confident the kids are dead and he alleges catherine killed them is it frustrating that she has not been deemed competent to stand trial i i think you know the court system is is what it is if catherine does ever stand trial for murder captain frank believes two pieces of security video will go a long way to proving her guilt the first is the chick-fil-a video when catherine snuck away from troy while searching for the kids if you look at her she continues to look back over her shoulder what's going on really the hesitation of thinking it through what am i going to do in this situation she knew what she was doing she needed to leave that situation she needed to not be there with troy when he met up with the police the second is the clip from the federal building catherine snuck into hours after vanishing she had the sense to make it across the highway into a secured facility piggyback into a secure facility to continue hiding she wasn't wandering around the neighborhood her actions were deliberate that's that's our belief when you look at everything i asked catherine's attorney david felson about her behavior in the video catherine is a young woman who has been for quite some time in the throes of profound mental illness i'm glad that the investigators and i say this with intended sarcasm i'm glad that the investigators know what's in her mind by looking at a videotape until catherine's next competency hearing in november troy continues to search for jacob and sarah you've also hired a private investigator to look into this case who's done a lot of work for you yes he's been amazing jared stern has been working on the case for two years like police he believes sarah and jacob are dead and catherine killed them he also believes the murders were premeditated since they happened at two different times it can't be a something in a fit of anger and whatever she did she had to have prepared in some measure because it went pretty well but if catherine did indeed kill her two kids what did she do with their bodies it just doesn't seem like in those five days she got very far well you're right montgomery county detectives won't reveal what they believe catherine did with the kids bodies but the private eye has his own theory if you ask yourself well where could they be we know her condition her level of cleanliness etc we know she didn't bury them but let's say she did she didn't bury him deeply they would have been found by now so that leaves a limited number of places the waterways which have not been searched by anybody make for a logical next step so jared stern has now begun to search 15 bodies of water across montgomery county using a newly invented underwater drone explain to me what you're doing here well we're using a remotely operated vehicle to search the pond bottom do you think it's possible these children could be in the water somewhere let's put it this way the bodies of water are the only areas that haven't been searched beyond the vast amount of ground searches have taken place so if one were to select places to search it makes sense the tedious task will take time how long will it take you to search 15 different waterways in montgomery county i'd say we're going to spend the better part of a year in the meantime troy turner has no choice but to keep waiting waiting for justice and waiting to bring his children home if jacob and sarah could hear you today what would you tell them i would tell them daddy loves them and daddy's never going to quit and and their brother misses him and they're that they have a whole family at home that thinks about him every day if you know anything about sarah and jacob's disappearance please call 1-301-279-8000

Channel: True Crime Daily

Views: 944,550

Rating: 4.8153539 out of 5

Keywords: Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, Catherine Hoggle, Troy Turner, Maryland missing, Crime Watch Daily, True Crime Daily

Id: Pz5bLzjzo4Q

Length: 25min 8sec (1508 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 28 2020