A woman accused of killing her 3-year-old nephew by pushing him into Lake Michigan from Navy Pier has been found fit to stand trial with medication.
Victoria Moreno, 35, faces counts of murder, aggravated battery and kidnapping charges after authorities said she threw Josiah Brown into the water on Sept. 19, 2022, and watched him sink without trying to help.
The boy was found by divers in about 30 minutes and he died less than a week later.
Judge Thomas Byrne noted the result of a forensic psychiatric evaluation for Moreno during a status hearing Tuesday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse. Court records show the determination was made in February.
Ordering a fitness report is standard procedure in cases involving mental health issues and is used to determine whether a defendant can understand the proceedings at trial and be able to participate in their defense. A person found unfit to stand trial can be placed in secure psychiatric care by the court until a day when they could be tried.
An assistant public defender appointed to represent Moreno said she planned to hire her own outside expert to conduct an assessment of her client and hoped to have one by Moreno’s next court date on July 10.
Moreno stole the keys to the family’s truck in Des Plaines on the day of the incident and left the residence without anyone knowing she had gone, Cook County prosecutors said at her initial hearing.
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She was not allowed to drive the car because she takes medication for mental health issues and because of an incident a week earlier when she took Josiah and several other children to Navy Pier, prosecutors said.
A defense attorney at the same hearing disputed prosecutor’s description of the events and said the boy may have fallen in by accident.
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Moreno has been diagnosed with anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder and has been on medication for seven years, her attorney said.
Moreno has been held at the Cook County Jail by court order since her initial hearing.
