SAN ANTONIO — Convicted baby killer Genene Jones was in court Thursday in connection to another child death case, but the family of that baby will have to wait longer for justice.
Smiling at her defense team, 68-year-old Jones crept quietly into court with the aid of a walker.
Her attorneys are trying to prove she is not competent to stand trial for murder.
Already in prison for more than three decades for killing a baby back in 1982, Jones is now facing additional murder charges.
Judge Andrew Carruthers asked her defense team "Going back to the competency issue, Dr. Jumes finds that Genene Jones is competent to stand trial. Do you agree?"
Defense attorney Cornelius Cox asked Carruthers to agree to a second competency evaluation and based upon the results, a jury trial to make a determination.
Carruthers accepted a psychiatric evaluation that found Jones competent to stand trial in connection with the 1981 death of baby Joshua Sawyer.
The judge agreed to seek a second opinion.
Cox said "We're just hoping to get this thing resolved as quickly as we can and move forward," adding "It's not unusual to get a second opinion."
Commenting on the health status of Jones, Cox said "She's doing as well as she could be under this type of situation. I would imagine it's very stressful for her."
District Attorney Joe Gonzales says they are ready to move forward with the first of five separate cases.
He says it is too soon to say if a plea agreement is in the works.
Gonzales said "Certainly everything is on the table but we will not go forward with any sort of plea bargain offer or agreement without having the families involved. We want to make sure that they are taken into account but for sure that is on the table."
Gonzales went on to praise his staff for diligently working for justice "We may be at some point be able to talk about a potential plea bargain but it's too early to tell. She's got to be competent enough to understand the consequences of a plea agreement," Gonzales said.
They are moving forward with these cases because even though Jones was sentenced to 99 years in prison, mandatory release rules made her eligible for freedom after serving only one-third of her time.
There is no word on when the new evaluation will take place or when the case might move forward.