A Utah woman accused of kidnapping her 19-month-old granddaughter and later drowning her in an Idaho river did so in a delusional state, thinking she was saving the baby from an abusive situation, prosecutors said Monday.
"She wanted to take the child to a better place," Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Bearnson said during a brief bench trial before U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball. "She wanted the child to be her angel."
Bearnson joined with defense attorney G. Fred Metos in asking Kimball to declare Kelley Jean Lodmell not guilty by reason of insanity on a single kidnapping charge arising from the May 25, 2003, incident.
Kimball did so, finding Lodmell was suffering from a severe mental disease when she took Acacia Patience Bishop from her parents' Murray home and therefore is "not criminally responsible for her actions at the time of the offense."
Evaluators must now determine whether Lodmell, 40, would present a danger to others if released from custody.
Family members who attended Monday's court proceeding found little relief in the outcome. "This has just been a walk in the park (for her)," said Linda Lodmell, Kelley Lodmell's mother and Acacia's great-grandmother.
Beyond taking the stand briefly Monday to answer Kimball's questions, Linda Lodmell noted that her daughter has not had to testify or accept any responsibility for her actions.
"She murdered our little granddaughter . . . great-granddaughter," she said.
Acacia's parents did not attend the Monday hearing. Linda Lodmell said the pair continue to hold out hope that the child is alive after spending nearly a year searching for their daughter in Idaho Falls after the abduction.
For the purposes of her trial, Lodmell stipulated to a detailed set of facts concerning Acacia's abduction. Court documents indicate that Lodmell took the child from the home of her parents, who were watching their great-granddaughter at the time, and drove north on I-15, stopping once at a truck stop for baby food, before making her way to Idaho Falls.
Lodmell and baby Acacia apparently spent the night at an Idaho Falls hotel and were seen the next day sitting on the bank of the Snake River. A witness reported seeing Lodmell holding Acacia in her lap, dangling her feet in the water, according to court documents.
Not long afterward, a wet Lodmell reportedly approached an employee of a nearby power plant, saying her granddaughter was in the water. According to court documents, Lodmell later told police she jumped in the water with the child, saying "they would both go to heaven if that is what God wanted."
Despite an intensive search effort, the child's body has never been recovered.
Lodmell has been charged with murder in Idaho, but that case is essentially on hold pending the Feb. 11 hearing in Utah's federal court. After a determination is made with regard to Lodmell's continued detention, Idaho prosecutors will decide whether to move forward with the murder prosecution or dismiss the charge, Bonneville County Attorney Dane Watkins Jr. said.
"Our major interest is that she's held in custody," Watkins said Monday, noting there is no statute of limitations on murder. Thus, he said, if Lodmell were one day released from federal custody — or if additional evidence is discovered — the charge could be refiled.
"If we were to dismiss (now) based on her incompetency . . . then we could still pursue the murder down the road if we chose."
E-mail: awelling@desnews.com