Judge: Mom who hid girls in pit competent
FORT LAUDERDALE (AP) – A Florida judge has ruled that a woman who allegedly hid her daughters in a hole beneath a beach playground is competent to stand trial.
Tammy Kongkham faces five child neglect charges. Her next court date is June 12.
Kongkham asked the judge Wednesday what a trial is. Defense attorney Dione Trawick says Kongkham has had problems understanding what’s happening in court.
Fort Lauderdale police say Kongkham and her young daughters spent weeks in the ant-infested hole without anyone noticing.
The 35-year-old woman allegedly abducted the girls from foster care in Philadelphia in October.
The 10-year-old was found begging for food in a Fort Lauderdale mall in December. Her mother and 8-year-old sister were found in a cardboard box in Tamarac two weeks later.