The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Marlo Hampton welcomed her two nephews, Michael and William, into her home in April of 2019 due to their mother suffering from mental health issues. Marlo’s sister wound up being arrested stemming from a traffic stop, and Marlo has remained the boys’ primary caregiver.
“My sister has mental issues; she’s bipolar and schizophrenic,” the 46-year-old reality star revealed to The New York Post in November of 2019. “My nephew called crying and said, ‘Aunty, can you come get me? The people are coming to take my mom.’ My nephews came to me in April.”
On a recent episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Marlo and her nephews received a video jail call from her sister. “My sister’s experiencing some mental health issues right now and she’s just having trouble getting the help that she needs while she’s incarcerated,” Marlo revealed to the camera. She further explained that her sister was refusing treatment offered to her by the courts.
Marlo was optimistic that when her sister saw her sons’ faces she would be motivated to change her mind about getting treatment. “But my sister gets on the phone and I could just tell she wasn’t herself,” an emotional Marlo revealed after the call. “She’s immediately cursing at me, yelling, and blaming me for putting her there. The guard said she wouldn’t even come back to the phone, and she picked up a chair and threw it at the monitor.”
“Mumty” Marlo then briefly recapped the situation. “My sister needs in-patient, and that’s exactly what the judge is telling her. But she won’t do it.”
Marlo’s sister’s arrest details
Marlo’s sister was arrested in Florida in August of 2018. According to the arrest report, she was driving a Nissan Altima when she was observed running a stop sign. The police officer turned on lights and a siren and attempted to pull her over.
Marlo’s sister refused to stop, and she allegedly ran “several more stop signs” in the process. The officer eventually disengaged from the chase.
Roughly 10 minutes later, Marlo’s sister was stopped at a red light when she was spotted by officers. They were able to get Marlo’s sister to exit the vehicle. From the police report:
Post Miranda, the defendant stated she was scared of police and she believed police were going to harm her. The defendant admitted to not stopping the vehicle.
Marlo’s sister was charged with fleeing and eluding a police officer, which is a third degree felony. She was released on $3,000 bond a week after her arrest.
Less than two months after posting bond, a warrant was issued for Marlo’s sister after she failed to appear at a court hearing.
It seems Marlo’s sister remained on the lam for more than a year. In February of 2021 she was arrested on the outstanding warrant in a nearby county. She posted bond and was a no show at yet another court hearing. As a result, another warrant was issued on April 26 of 2021.
A little more than five months later, the warrant was served. Marlo’s sister was arrested again when police did a welfare check “after a family member called police to say the defendant was not taking care of herself” and discovered that she had an outstanding warrant.
Marlo’s sister deemed incompetent to stand trial
In December of 2021, the defense attorney filed a motion to determine if Marlo’s sister was competent to stand trial. Here is a numerical list of the evidence provided by the defense in support of the motion:
1. Over multiple video visits, Defendant requires repeated re-introduction to her defense attorney and explanation of his role.
2. During conversations about her case, Defendant requires repeated clarification and explanation of the nature of her criminal charge.
3. Defendant’s emotional outbursts and inability to focus on the topics of discussion impeded her ability to engage in productive conversations about her case, defense, and associated legal matters.
4. These same emotional outbursts and lack of cognitive focus would render her ineffective in participating in her own defense at trial.
5. Defendant has been examined by an independent forensic psychologist who has completed the forensic evaluator training required by the department in accordance with Fl. Stat. § 916.115 and is listed by the department as an available mental health professional.
6. This forensic evaluator has found the Defendant incompetent for the reasons listed here, as well as providing a diagnosis of bipolar and schizophrenic disorder.
Marlo’s sister was evaluated again and the court determined that she was incompetent to proceed on January 14, 2022. As a result, she was released.
Marlo’s sister due back in court this week
Unfortunately, Marlo’s sister appears to still be struggling. When the officers did a welfare check on her in late 2021, they did so at a park. On May 19, 2022, she was cited for being in a public park after closing.
Marlo’s sister lists an apartment for an address, but it’s unclear if she resides there or is actually homeless.
She is scheduled for an arraignment tomorrow, July 7.
UPDATE – Marlo’s sister was found guilty of being in the park after closing and was fined $93. It doesn’t appears that this triggered any previous charges. She does have a status check conference scheduled in November stemming from the 2018 charge. It’s simply described as “competency” on the docket, so perhaps they will be re-evaluating at that time?
#RHOA We have updates on the arrest and court case for Marlo Hampton's sister (and mother of her nephews) after she was ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial early last year. #RealHousewivesOfAtlanta https://t.co/R9h937iOZq
— Starcasm (@starcasm) May 8, 2023
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
