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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) -- The murder case against the woman accused of kidnapping and drowning her 19-month-old granddaughter has ended.
Kelly Jean Lodmell was to face kidnapping and first-degree murder charges in Bonneville County, Idaho. Prosecutors say Lodmell took young Acacia Bishop from her Salt Lake City home in May 2003, fleeing with the baby to Idaho Falls and jumping with the child into the Snake River.
Lodmell climbed out of the swift water -- but the child's body was never found.
A federal judge in Salt Lake City found Lodmell not guilty by reason of insanity on the kidnapping charge in Utah. Lodmell was then ordered held indefinitely after psychological evaluations confirmed her mental illness.
Today, the Bonneville County prosecuting attorney said Lodmell's illness and the move to hold her in federal custody prompted him to end the Idaho case.
Watkins says the door remains open to a murder case in Idaho if Lodmell ever recovers.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
