Judge orders Ewing to state mental hospital

Jace Radke

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2003 | 11:03 a.m.

The woman accused of beating her children to death with a baseball bat was ordered this morning to the state's mental hospital by District Judge Joseph Bonaventure.

During a short hearing, Bonaventure read from psychiatric reports that stated that Sylvia Ewing, 39, was hearing voices, believes Jesus will soon return and was incompetent to stand trial.

Bonaventure issued the transfer order that will send Ewing to Lakes Crossing, the state's mental hospital in Sparks, for further evaluation.

Ewing is charged with two counts of murder with a deadly weapon in connection with the deaths of her children, Phillip, 8, and Julie, 4, in their apartment on Las Vegas Boulevard North across from Nellis Air Force Base.

The reports show that Ewing is "acutely psychotic" and that she suffers from a delusional disorder and has a history of mental illness, Deputy Public Defender Joseph Abood said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Vicki Monroe told Bonaventure that the court should probably order Ewing to Lakes Crossing. Bonaventure asked Monroe if prosecutors would seek the death penalty in the case, but she said it hadn't been determined.

"That will be decided by a committee once (Ewing's) mental competency is known," Monroe said.

If Ewing is declared mentally incompetent, the two murder charges against her will be put on hold until she is declared competent.

According to police, in the early morning hours of Sept. 23, Ewing took her children to a Wal-Mart, bought a baseball bat, took them home and allegedly beat them to death with the bat.

Police said Ewing then stepped in front of a tractor-trailer in an apparent suicide attempt.