FLORENCE, Ariz — Machelle Hobson, the Maricopa woman accused of abusing her adopted kids and forcing them to perform in YouTube videos, was once again not in court for a hearing.
Hobson's legal team was in front of a judge Wednesday morning in mental health court in Pinal County. The hearing comes after she was deemed not competent but restorable. That means a judge believes, for now, she is not fit for trial.
Sources tell 12 News Hobson suffered a brain injury while in custody.
Hobson is now in a medical facility receiving treatment and according to her attorney, a doctor has been visiting her there evaluating her mental and physical state.
Her legal team is due back in court in November where they will review medical reports. Doctors will continue to evaluate Hobson over a 15-month period to determine if she will ever be ready for trial.
Hobson's YouTube channel, which has been taken down, racked up millions of views. Investigators say she would punish her seven adopted kids if they forgot their lines or did not perform as directed for the videos.
The children told authorities they would be pepper-sprayed, beaten, forced to take ice baths and locked in a closet without food, water or access to a restroom for days, according to court documents.
On March 13, Hobson’s biological daughter called police after one of her adopted sisters said their mother was abusing them, prompting a welfare check at the home.
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Police said during the welfare check, a child wearing only a pull-up was found in an unlocked closet, which has a locking mechanism.
Officers said they found six other children who appeared pale and underweight and had dark rings under their eyes. The children told police they were thirsty and hungry.
While officers were speaking to one of the children, he drank three 16-ounce bottles of water in a 20-minute time frame while describing being pepper-sprayed numerous times by Hobson, according to court documents.
Another child said she was extremely hungry and thirsty but was afraid to eat a bag of chips provided because she did not want her mother to smell chips on her breath, the documents say.
Officers said another child they talked to was visibly nervous and shaking and appeared too scared to answer questions.
Police said Hobson had her two adult sons prepare food for her children while the officers were at the home. But one of the younger children told officers her mother was only allowing them to have food because the police were there, as she had not been allowed to eat for two days, according to the court paperwork.
The children told DCS their mother took them out of school to film their YouTube series, which had more than 700,000 followers and more than 242 million views. The children mentioned to DCS they had not been in school for years.
Hobson's sons, Logan and Ryan Hackney, were initially arrested for failing to report the abuse but the charges against them were dropped. Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer told 12 News there is a chance the county will pursue a case against them in the future.
