Hearing postponed in case of Patterson mother ruled insane

A judge on Friday postponed until Wednesday a hearing to discuss what happens next to a 26-year-old woman determined by the court to be not guilty of murder by reason of insanity in the bathtub drowning of her 3-year-old daughter nearly three years ago in Patterson.

Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff has ruled that Jennifer Lynn Bigham was suffering from mental illness when authorities found her daughter, Alexandrea Bigham, underwater in the bathtub.

Sheriff's officials have said Bigham was found at the home with self-inflicted, superficial stab wounds to her upper body. She was treated at the hospital before she was jailed.

The court now will have to decide what happens to Bigham. Will she be released soon from custody? Or will she be sent to a secure facility for further mental health treatment? The court must determine if she still suffers from mental illness.

Bigham's defense attorney was not available to be in court Friday morning, so Zeff postponed the hearing.