Hartford

Woman Charged With Setting Deadly Nursing Home Fire Incompetent: Judge

A judge has ruled that a woman charged with setting a fire that killed 16 residents of a Connecticut nursing home in 2003 is still not competent for trial.

The Hartford Courant reports that a public defender told the judge Friday that Leslie Andino remains "severely disabled." The judge continued the case for another year.

Authorities allege the now 38-year-old Andino set the fire at the Greenwood Health Center in Hartford in February 2003. Then 23, Andino was a resident of the facility because she has mental health issues and a progressive form of multiple sclerosis that has irreparably eroded her brain.

Andino said at the time she accidentally ignited her bed sheets while flicking a lighter.

A judge ruled in 2005 that she would likely never regain competence.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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