Stepmom accused in boy’s killing to be evaluated
Trial delayed; woman accused of fatally abusing 5-year-old in 2018
The trial for a woman charged in the death last year of her 5-year-old stepson in Santa Fe has been postponed until a court-appointed psychologist can determine if she has the mental competency to understand the proceedings and participate in her own defense.
Melynie April Tyalan Curtis, 21, was due to stand trial in December on charges brought in October 2018 of intentional child abuse resulting in death and criminal sexual penetration of a child, as well as five counts of child abuse added in July. If convicted in Jayden Curtis’ death, she faces a possible penalty of life in prison.
During a preliminary hearing Wednesday in state District Court in Santa Fe, her public defender, Todd Farkas, submitted a motion asking Judge T. Glenn Ellington to halt the proceedings and allow a competency evaluation of Melynie Curtis — a mother of three who has a history of chronic depression and postpartum depression, according to court documents. Ellington granted the motion and appointed psychologist Susan Cave to conduct the evaluation.
Prosecutors did not challenge the motion. Farkas said he was unsure when the court would determine whether Curtis is competent to stand trial.
On Sept. 22, 2018, Curtis called 911 and said she had found Jayden unresponsive in the bathtub.
He was airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.
Police records said medical personnel reported Jayden had no water in his lungs but had marks on his body indicating abuse. Authorities said he appeared to have been choked to death.
Jayden’s parents took him off life support Sept. 25.
After initial charges were brought against Curtis, court records show, she told authorities the boy did not drown as she had claimed, but that she had “gotten angry with him and strangled him.”
An autopsy report by the state Office of the Medical Investigator said Jayden had signs of strangulation and “blunt force injuries indicative of non-accidental trauma,” such as bruising on his lower back and buttocks, and contusions and abrasions on his anus and genitals.
At the time of Jayden’s death, Curtis was a stay-at-home mother caring for Jayden and her own three sons, who are now in state custody, authorities have said.