By C.J. Carnacchio
Oxford Leader Editor
ROCHESTER HILLS ? For a woman accused of a double homicide and facing the prospect of spending the rest of her life in prison, Sylvia Marie Majewska was preoccupied with the fact she didn’t have her eyeglasses.
Twice the 65-year-old Addison woman brought it up while answering questions posed by 52-3 District Judge Lisa Asadoorian during her Dec. 18 pre-exam conference, which resulted in her being ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
‘Thank you for the reminder,? replied Asadoorian after the second mention of the glasses.
Majewska is charged with the first-degree murders of her son Daryne Gailey, 29, of Oxford, and her 7-month-old granddaughter Charley Lillian Hendrick.
Both were found dead Nov. 23 in Gailey’s home on Kintyre in Oxford Township. Blunt force trauma to the head resulted in Hendrick’s demise, while Gailey’s throat was slashed, according to the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Gailey was a 2003 Oxford High School graduate and a full-time clerk at the Kroger grocery store in Lake Orion, where he was well-known and well-liked by many.
Based on a request from defense attorney William Mitchell, Asadoorian ordered Majewska be evaluated at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Saline.
The 210-bed psychiatric facility provides diagnostic services for the criminal justice system and psychiatric treatment for criminal defendants deemed incompetent to stand trial or acquitted by reason of insanity.
Majewska will be evaluated on issues of competency and criminal responsibility.
Competency has to do with Majewska’s ability to know and understand the nature of the charges against her and assist her attorney in her defense.
Criminal responsibility concerns whether she was able to know and appreciate her actions and comport her actions with the requirements of the law.
Asadoorian asked if Majewska has ‘ever been formally diagnosed? with any mental health issues?
‘Not that I’m aware of,? Mitchell replied.
The judge asked Majewska if she understood that she was going to be evaluated by psychiatric professionals.
‘Yes, I do ? and I don’t have any (eye) glasses either for my face,? Majewska replied.
During the proceedings, Mitchell, who was appointed by the court to defend Majewska, told the judge he met with his client ‘very briefly? and her mental state was such that he was unable to have a meaningful conversation with her.
Mitchell noted that she is under ‘suicide watch? at the Oakland County Jail. She’s been lodged there since her Dec. 8 release from McLaren Oakland hospital in Pontiac.
Majewska was the only one found alive when Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies entered the Kintyre home on Nov. 23. She was found sitting on the couch in the living room with a boxcutter beside her. Her left arm and wrist had sustained what are believed to be self-inflicted cuts and she was bleeding into a bucket filled with water. She was conscious and able to talk, but, according to authorities, she wasn’t speaking coherently.
Outside the courtroom, Mitchell addressed the media and gave his thoughts concerning his client’s mental status.
‘She is obviously, in my opinion at least ? I’m not a doctor ? suffering from some stress,? he said. ‘She has difficulty understanding some things and communicating some things.?
‘She’s fixated, as you can tell, on the fact that she doesn’t have her glasses, which is something that might be a little disconcerting considering what she’s facing at this point,? Mitchell continued. ‘I am concerned that she is not able to assist me in representing her.?
Mitchell said when he met with her ‘she was completely unable to assist me at the time.?
‘She is, I think, still in a great deal of pain and shock,? he said. ‘I don’t think that’s really unusual. Like I said, I’m not a professional in that respect, but as a human, I would think that some realization of what’s occurred is setting in, maybe. Maybe she’s still under (the influence of) some psychotic event from before. I don’t know.?
Mitchell noted he’s ‘not even sure that she’s fully aware of what happened.?
‘We haven’t had that conversation yet because she’s just not in a place where she can have that conversation, at least in my opinion,? he said. ‘I don’t even know that she knows.?
During a Dec. 8 press conference, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said investigators searched Majewska’s Addison home and recovered multiple computer documents and handwritten notes that show ‘a premeditation and a plan that things were all going to come to an end shortly.?
‘There was a plan and the plan had a conclusion that wasn’t good,? the sheriff said. ‘I think it’s pretty clear the ominous nature of where this was headed.?
Mitchell believes the Center for Forensic Psychiatry is the ‘best place? for his client to be right now, not a jail cell.
‘It’s important to get (her) to the hospital to see if we can get some professionals to tell us what’s going on before everybody starts judging her and talking about her character and her divorce situation and all those other things that were brought out in the (news)paper,? he said. ‘This is America, we’re still about (having a) fair trial.?
There is concern that Majewska could attempt suicide while in custody, so precautionary measures have been taken.
‘She is restricted in a number of ways that other prisoners would not normally be, pending a trial,? Mitchell said. ‘She’s in a cell, all by herself, and she is being watched 24 hours a day.?
Mitchell was critical of a recent Detroit Free Press article, which painted Majewska in an extremely unflattering light with regard to her character and treatment of others.
He said the story portrayed her in a ‘one-sided way.?
‘It’s not unusual, in these kind of cases, that the media gets, and the public gets, an advance of what justice is trying to obtain,? Mitchell said. ‘But we’ll try to work through that and see if we can make sure that people have some other sense of this lady.?
He admitted his own lack of knowledge about Majewska at this point.
‘I know nothing about her before this. I’m not sure that much of the community does,? Mitchell said. ‘This certainly is a traumatic event and it is certainly something that is unusual in our society, so one might question why this happened other than maybe she’s just not a nice lady. Maybe there’s something else going on, so we’ll see if we can find that.?
Majewska’s next court appearance is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, March 2.
Both a competency hearing and a preliminary examination will take place.
‘Court will dedicate that entire day to this case,? Asadoorian said.