A competency evaluation was requested for Laura Voepel, the mother of alleged Club Q shooter Anderson Aldrich, during a court hearing Thursday.

At a hearing last month, Voepel’s attorney, Carrie Thompson, told Judge Yolanda Fennick that misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct against her client came after police told Voepel on Nov. 20, 2022, that her child had been arrested in connection with a murder. Voepel’s child, Aldrich, is accused of fatally shooting five people and injuring nearly two dozen more at the LGBTQ+ nightclub Club Q on North Academy Boulevard on Nov. 19, 2022. 

Concerns over Voepel’s competency to proceed in the case were raised by Thompson at the May hearing, when Voepel interrupted the hearing by attempting to speak numerous times before she was kicked out for calling the judge an expletive term. 

After the outburst Thompson apologized and said her client was “severely mentally ill,” before adding that the outburst may force her to raise the issue of competency to proceed, which Thompson said she had initially not wanted. 

On Thursday, Thompson officially made the request during a motions hearing in 4th Judicial District Court that an evaluation be conducted on Voepel, who appeared in person in court for the first time in her case. 

A competency evaluation is conducted to determine if a defendant is competent to proceed forward with a case. If a defendant is found incompetent, all court proceedings are halted until the defendant is restored to competency via mental health restoration. 

After prosecutor Andrew Vaughan did not object, Judge Fennick granted the defense motion for a competency evaluation. 

Voepel’s attorneys argued during a previous court appearance that body-worn camera footage of the incident should be played in court because it showed their client could not have knowingly committed the crimes in question amid her “deteriorating mental condition.”

“She (Voepel) was under extraordinary distress and despair,” Thompson argued in May. “Clearly, she’s a woman who was experiencing a traumatic event.”

Vaughan argued that evidence suggesting mental competency should not be admissible unless Voepel enters a not guilty by reason of insanity plea, which Thompson said Voepel has no intention of doing. 

Vaughan also said that authorities found 49 pills at Voepel’s apartment, which she shared with Aldrich, and claimed they may be ecstasy. Vaughan pointed to the alleged ecstasy pills as a potential motive for her actions, rather than mental health issues. 

Voepel’s child and alleged Club Q shooter Anderson Aldrich has been undergoing a sanity examination at the state hospital, which could determine if Aldrich will plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

Aldrich’s next court appearance is an arraignment scheduled June 26. 

Prior to ending the hearing, Thompson informed Fennick that Voepel is moving to Florida to live with her parents on July 2, and she will need to attend future court proceedings virtually. 

Attorneys will return to court for an update on Voepel’s competency evaluation on July 21.