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No trial yet for mom of missing boy

PHOENIX, May 26 (UPI) -- A judge in Arizona has ordered a new psychiatric evaluation for the mother of a missing Arizona boy.

Elizabeth Johnson, 24, initially provided two different versions of what happened to her son, Gabriel, in December 2009. She texted the father, saying she killed the baby and hid the body in a trash can, but she told police she gave him to a couple she met in a park in San Antonio.

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Johnson is charged in Arizona with custodial interference, kidnapping and child abuse.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Paul McMurdie made no decision Wednesday on whether Johnson is competent enough to assist her defense, The Arizona Republic reported.

"A dismissal in a situation like this is a last resort," McMurdie said. "If she is not cooperating with her lawyers, she needs to be restored. If she can't be restored to competency, there is a civil remedy."

If Johnson is found incompetent, she would be committed to a secure psychiatric hospital until she is determined to be competent.

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