Greensburg mother pleads guilty but mentally ill to young child’s attempted murder
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A Greensburg woman could face up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced this year for the attempted first-degree murder of her 8-year-old child.
Skye C. Naggy, 32, pleaded guilty but mentally ill Tuesday to six criminal offenses in connection with an incident in which prosecutors claimed that, on Oct. 25, 2022, she kidnapped her child, drove them to a secluded wooded area at Loyalhanna Lake where she planned to end her child’s life through a drug injection.
“I did think a serial killer was trying to kill us,” Naggy told the judge Tuesday as she entered her guilty plea to charges of attempted murder, assisted suicide, aggravated assault, kidnapping, interference with child custody and child endangerment.
Prosecutors dismissed counts of attempted drug delivery resulting in death, kidnapping of a minor, unlawful contact with a minor and other misdemeanor offenses.
According to court records, Naggy had briefly been held at a mental health treatment facility before she was discharged and picked up her child, who had been placed by court order in the care of a relative. Naggy, witnesses told police, had sought out the purchase of fentanyl and opiates and forced the child to consume the drugs. Both controlled substances were found in the child’s system, police said.
Investigators said Naggy claimed she intended to kill herself and the child on orders from God.
Naggy has been in jail since she was taken into custody after police tracked her movements through her cellphone and found her and the child at the lake.
Naggy last year was found competent to stand trial, but her defense team claimed her mental health prevented her from being criminally responsible for her actions. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani last year rejected a defense effort to have the charges against Naggy dismissed based on claims from two doctors who suggested she was insane at the time of the incident.
As a result of her guilty but mentally ill plea, Naggy faces a potential prison sentence.
“This plea means the sentence will be served, and the court will have to decide if she needs treatment in the (corrections) system before she begins serving the sentence,” Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar said.
Assistant Public Defender Michael Garofalo said he will argue Naggy’s mental health status will be a key consideration in determining a sentence.
“We thought this plea was the best option for Ms. Naggy moving forward so we can get her the treatment she needs,” Garofalo said.