Housed by herself in the Allegheny County Jail's mental health pod, Andrea Curry-Demus was haunted.

The Wilkinsburg woman, charged with killing an 18-year-old by slicing open her womb to steal her baby, believes Kia Johnson is still alive or has risen from the dead, according to testimony at a competency hearing yesterday.

Dr. Christine Martone of the Allegheny County Behavior Clinic recommended that Ms. Curry-Demus be sent to Torrance State Hospital to treat her "psychotic depression," and Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning agreed.

He ordered that Ms. Curry-Demus be moved from the jail to Torrance for 60 days in the hope that with treatment and medication, she can be declared competent to stand trial.

She was not called on to speak yesterday, offering only a meek "yes" when taking the oath.

Ms. Curry-Demus must be able to assist in her own defense to stand trial, but public defender Christopher Patarini said yesterday that she barely speaks and sometimes nods off when he tries to talk to her. Though she understands the charges against her -- homicide, kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful restraint and conspiracy -- Ms. Curry-Demus is unable to comprehend how to defend herself, Mr. Patarini said.

"I have had numerous conversations with her in an attempt to draw her out and see if she understands," Mr. Patarini said after the hearing. "She is very introverted and seems very depressed."

Deputy District Attorney Mark V. Tranquilli argued against moving Ms. Curry-Demus, saying that she was competent enough to stand trial for another baby-snatching. She served seven years in state prison after stabbing a woman in an alleged plot to steal her infant in 1990. Police recovered the child, unharmed, at Ms. Curry-Demus' apartment.

Mr. Tranquilli said Ms. Curry-Demus was able to live on her own after her release from prison and a reluctance to speak doesn't necessarily mean incompetence.

"None of us have been able to discern whether she can't cooperate with her defense or if she doesn't want to cooperate with her defense," he said.

At a hearing in July, Judge Manning sided with the prosecution and ruled that Ms. Curry-Demus was competent. The ruling, which kept Ms. Curry-Demus in jail, went against Dr. Martone's recommendation.

Dr. Martone said that between then and last week, when she examined Ms. Curry-Demus again, her mental state had deteriorated. Ms. Curry-Demus suffers from auditory hallucinations and doesn't understand the severity of her possible sentence, she testified. The psychiatrist said she does not think Ms. Curry-Demus could be faking her symptoms.

Dr. Martone said the problems could be exacerbated by Ms. Curry-Demus' isolation in the jail, and more monitoring and treatment could get her to the point of competency.

If the case does go to trial, Mr. Patarini indicated that he likely would attempt an insanity defense.

Police have said the victim and defendant met in the county jail visiting room. Ms. Curry-Demus was visiting her husband, Raymond Demus, and Ms. Johnson was visiting her boyfriend, Terrell D. Barnes, the father of her baby. Mr. Barnes is due to stand trial for armed robbery next month.

Ms. Curry-Demus told friends and family she was pregnant, even going so far as to throw a baby shower. She later told police she had a miscarriage, which sent her into a deep depression.

On July 16, Ms. Curry-Demus arrived at West Penn Hospital bearing a baby boy with his umbilical cord still attached. She claimed the boy was hers, but doctors quickly realized she had not recently given birth. She then claimed she had bought the baby for $1,000 from a woman named "Tina."

Two days later, police found Ms. Johnson's decomposing body in Ms. Curry-Demus' apartment, under the headboard of her bed. Ms. Johnson's abdomen was sliced open, and her hands and feet were bound with duct tape. She was wrapped in a comforter and garbage bags.

"I'm sad and hurt," Ms. Johnson's father, Eric, said after the hearing. "I just want justice to be done." As for Ms. Curry-Demus, he added, "I just hope she's right with God."

Eric Johnson of McKeesport said the baby is healthy and living with family. Terrell Kian Barnes, now nearly 6 months old, weighs 14 pounds, his grandfather reported, and has started teething.

The infant's middle name is in honor of his mother.