Melissa Bal, 37, of San Diego, appears before Judge Jeanne Schechter at the Merced County Superior Courthouse for a competency hearing where no decision was made, in Merced, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017. Bal, who is suspected of killing her mother Lydia Marie Bal, 55, of Dos Palos, in Oct. 2017, has been charged with first degree murder. … Click to Continue »