DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — A woman who is charged with two separate murders in Decatur was granted a mental evaluation, according to court documents.
On October 15, Mary Hughes’ attorney filed for a court-ordered mental examination. According to the court document for the order, Hughes’ attorney motioned for this examination to be conducted in advance of the trial for a list of reasons:
- Court documents say Hughes believed her boyfriend followed her around when he was in the hospital and unable to follow her
- Documents say Hughes believes she was initiated into a cult the night before one of the offenses
- Hughes’ attorney said she was prescribed Depakote (500 mg) but stopped taking AMA
- Documents show she has been hospitalized for mental health on several occasions in the past
- Hughes’ attorney said she hears voices and hallucinations
On November 11, the motion for the mental evaluation was granted saying that once the examination is completed, the examining psychiatrist or psychologist shall report to the court whether, at the time of the offense(s), the defendant was suffering from symptoms of mental disease or defect.
The order also states the examiner will determine if at the time of the offense(s), “such symptoms, if any, contributed to the commission of the offense(s).”
On Aug. 25, Decatur police officers responded to a stabbing call at a home on Ororke Lane. An adult man was found with multiple lacerations. At the time, the man was taken to Huntsville Hospital for treatment.
Hughes was charged with domestic assault and taken to the Morgan County jail on a bond of $10,000.
Hughes bonded out on Aug. 28.
On Aug. 31, officers responded to a call about an assault on Line Street and Market Street. The report said that a woman had attacked an elderly woman with a hammer before leaving the scene in a vehicle. Witnesses were able to follow her until officers arrived.
Hughes was then arrested and charged with first-degree assault and taken to the Morgan County jail again with a bond set at $50,000.
On Sunday, Sept. 1 officers found a dead man inside his home. Through an investigation, the man was identified as James Jefferson. He was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for an autopsy, which later determined homicide was the cause of death. The investigation remained ongoing.
Officers received a call on Thursday, Sept. 5 that the elderly woman who was attacked on Aug. 31 had died from her injuries. This raised Hughes’ bond to $100,000 and her charge was upgraded to murder.
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The investigation into the death of Jefferson revealed Hughes as the suspect in his murder.
Hughes is currently in the Morgan County jail pending her mental evaluation with a bond of $100,000. Her charges include murder, one pending murder charge and a pending charge of first-degree assault of a non-family member with a weapon.
