Hearing continued for Smock woman accused of killing mother
A Fayette County judge continued a hearing for a Smock woman accused of killing her mother last year so she could undergo a physical examination, and wait for mental health records from a state institution. Angela Modispaw, 31, has a brain tumor, District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon said. Modispaw’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Susan Ritz Harper, told Judge Gerald R. Solomon on Monday that she has asked the county’s prison warden to have additional tests done. Harper also said that before psychologist Adam C. Sedlock Jr. can evaluate Modispaw’s mental competency, he needs records from the state institution where Modispaw was housed after her arrest.
State police were called to 701 Second St. around 4:15 a.m. April 11, 2008, and alleged that Modispaw stabbed her mother, Theresa Maureen Modispaw, 56, to death. Trooper James Garlick alleged that Modispaw used a butcher knife to try and cut her mother’s throat, and then stabbed her five times, include once in the heart.
She reportedly told police voices told her to kill her mother.
Police also alleged she stabbed her brother, Michael Modispaw, when he saw what had happened to his mother.
He called 911 for help, and tried to talk to his sister, but police said he indicated that she slashed his neck with a knife.
After that the two prayed, and Garlick said when Michael Modispaw’s back was turned, his sister allegedly stabbed him in the back with a pair of scissors.
She faces charges of criminal homicide and aggravated assault.
Before the alleged attack, police said Angela Modispaw’s aunt called her mother and brother and told them she was “acting odd.”
Solomon said he would reschedule the hearing in mid-July.