Mom facing murder charges 11 years after her children disappeared without a trace
A Maryland mother has been charged with murder more than a decade after her two children vanished without trace.
Authorities say that Catherine Hoggle, from Clarksburg, was the last known person to see her children - 3-year-old Sarah and 2-year-old Jacob - alive when they suddenly disappeared in September 2014.
Hoggle, who has struggled with mental illness, initially told her partner and the father of her children, Troy Turner, that Sarah and Jacob were in a new child care center, but she refused to tell him where exactly that was when he had planned to pick them up nearly 11 years ago.
Sarah and Jacob's mother was initially charged with murder, but such charges were ultimately dropped as it was found that Hoggle was not competent to stand trial and go to court for the alleged crime.
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The Maryland mother has been in a psychiatric facility for the past several years, according to the Associated Press. The outlet reports Hoggle was released from the hospital last month.
But last week, the 38-year-old was indicted by a jury on two counts of first-degree murder.
A press release from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office states: "Catherine Ashley Hoggle, 38, of Clarksburg, has been indicted by the Grand Jury on two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of her children, Sarah and Jacob Hoggle. The Grand Jury returned the indictment on Thursday, July 31, 2025.
"Hoggle was arrested on Friday, August 1, 2025, in Kent County, MD, after the State became aware that she had been discharged and was no longer receiving care from a medical facility. She was transported to Montgomery County for processing."
The 38-year-old is currently being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit in Rockville after her arrest, according to the press release.
Sarah and Jacob's father has long searched and campaigned for justice for his children through the Facebook page, FindSarahFindJacob.
After the latest developments, a post on the social media account said: "We are following the latest developments closely and continue to work with authorities to seek justice for Sarah and Jacob.
"We ask that you please respect our privacy as we continue to rebuild our lives and continue to search for our babies at the same time. Thank you for your understanding.
"We will continue to post as we always have, and are happy to share more if there are any developments that our family is able to share perspective on."
Hoggle's lawyers are seeking to dismiss the murder charges, claiming the recent arrest was for charges that were dismissed in 2022.
Callum Jones