ROSEVILLE, Mich., Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A Michigan judge ordered a competency evaluation Wednesday for a woman accused of pretending her son had cancer and denied her visits from the boy.
Carolyn Schnuphase, 47, allegedly got $7,000 from fundraisers held by her church and donations from business owners. She faces charges of both fraud and child abuse, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Schnuphase, who is being held in the Macomb County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, said nothing during the hearing in Roseville. Her lawyer entered not guilty pleas to both charges.
Prosecutors say she shaved her 12-year-old son's head to fake the appearance of a cancer patient and that he was found to have ingested opiates. Family members told police the cancer might have been faked.
Her son is now in foster care. Judge Marco Santia granted Assistant Prosecutor Therese Tobin's requests for an eight-week psychiatric evaluation to determine if Schnuphase is competent to stand trial and to bar her from seeing her son. Tobin said the boy might be a witness.
"He's clearly the victim of a child abuse case," Tobin said.
