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Officials are recommending Kayla Brown be taken to a hospital for treatment to restore competency before any charges can move forward.
WASHINGTON — The trial for a woman officials say was behind a deadly carjacking outside a hospital emergency room has been put on pause as the suspect was found not competent to stand trial.
Kayla Kenisha Brown, 22, is charged with felony murder, kidnapping and unarmed carjacking. On June 10, police say Brown crashed a car she stole from outside Washington Hospital Center's emergency room.
Leslie Marie Gaines, 55, was inside the car when Brown took off. She was waiting outside the emergency room as her daughter went to ask for help bringing her mother inside. Little did her daughter know, that was the last time she would see her mom alive. The car crashed less than 30 minutes later into a building that houses the United States Attorney. Gaines died following the crash.
Hours before the reported carjacking, court documents show officers received a 911 call from a woman screaming and asking for help before the line disconnected.
Officers went to the apartment where the call was placed and found Brown and her parents. According to court documents, Brown's mother told officers her daughter had gone out with a man she met on Instagram and got "some sort of drug." The suspect's father then indicated that Brown had been "acting crazy" for about three days.
Upon checking her vitals, EMTs said Brown's blood pressure and heart rate were much too high for her age and took her to Washington Hospital Center, where police say she later took the stolen car. Following the crash, Brown was taken into custody and charged.
On Tuesday, a little over a month later, Brown was found incompetent to stand trial following a mental observation. According to court documents, officials requested Brown be taken to an area hospital to regain competency.
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