Prosecutors trying the case of a Wilkinsburg woman accused of killing an 18-year-old and taking the fetus from her womb will be permitted to tell the jury about a previous conviction for a similar crime. Sort of.

Andrea Curry-Demus, 40, was accused of stabbing a woman in May 1990 in an alleged plot to steal her infant. The next day, she went to a local hospital and kidnapped a different baby.

She was convicted of aggravated assault, but yesterday, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning issued an order giving Deputy District Attorney Mark V. Tranquilli permission to present information on the 1990 kidnapping only to establish motive in the current case.

The judge went on to say, though, that his order does not prevent either the prosecution or defense from introducing the facts used by mental health experts to render their opinions on her mental competency.

Ms. Curry-Demus, who has been diagnosed as having psychotic depression, spent several months in 2009 at Torrance State Hospital receiving treatment. Yesterday, at a motions hearing, Judge Manning said he expected Dr. Christine Martone, who evaluated Ms. Curry-Demus in the past and recommended a stay at Torrance, would say that the woman is now competent to stand trial.

Jury selection in the case was scheduled to begin yesterday, but the judge postponed it until Thursday, after Public Defender Christopher Patarini said he had just received the prosecution's mental health expert report that morning.

Ms. Curry-Demus is charged with killing Kia Johnson in July 2008.

According to police, the defendant met Ms. Johnson, 18, of McKeesport, while both women were visiting inmates at the Allegheny County Jail.

On July 16, Ms. Curry-Demus showed up at West Penn Hospital with a baby boy whose umbilical cord was still attached. She told doctors the baby was hers, but they determined she had not recently given birth.

Two days later, Ms. Johnson's body was found in Ms. Curry-Demus' apartment. She was bound with duct tape and had plastic wrap around her face. Her abdomen had been sliced open.

Ms. Johnson's baby is being cared for by her family.

Mr. Patarini informed the prosecution on Christmas Eve that he may argue that Ms. Curry-Demus is not guilty by reason of insanity, which would result in her being sent to a state mental institution if a jury agrees. But he said he has trouble making his client comprehend that she will have to make factual concessions to pursue that defense.

"Sometimes I think she understands them. Sometimes, I'm not sure," he told Judge Manning. "I cannot proceed in a defense until she tells me she's willing to concede to certain facts."

Prosecutor Mark V. Tranquilli is expected to argue she was not legally insane when the incident occurred.

Mr. Patarini also has asked Judge Manning to limit the photographs offered by the prosecution because they are inflammatory and to consider either moving the trial to a different county or bringing in jurors from elsewhere because of extensive pre-trial publicity.

The judge said if during jury selection it appears the media coverage has been prejudicial, he will readdress the defense motion. As for the photographs, he said he would rule during the trial.

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