German man accused in DC murder not OK for trial

Albrecht Muth is awaiting trial in the August killing of 91-year-old Viola Drath, a German journalist and socialite and his wife of more than 20 years. But the case has been on hold for months amid concerns about Muth’s mental state.

Muth, 48, has held himself out as a staff brigadier general with the Iraqi Army and has suggested his wife was targeted in an Iranian hit job — claims prosecutors say are false and delusional. More recently, doctors say, he has starved himself, tried to fire his court-appointed lawyers and likened himself to Jesus. He is being treated at a psychiatric hospital and is due in D.C. Superior Court Thursday.

The latest evaluation, conducted Monday, says that while Muth remains incompetent for trial, his condition will likely improve with treatment and time. The doctors say Muth continues to insist that he is a general and that prosecutors removed his credentials from his home. He became agitated when told by doctors that he might be delusional, saying, “You take away my memories, you take away my life,” according to the three-page evaluation.

Muth has also become “increasingly more anxious” in recent weeks because of the lack of progress in his criminal case and the number of experts who have been evaluating him, the evaluation says. They say he’d benefit from more regular contact with his attorneys. His public defender did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday.

Authorities say Muth called 911 on the morning of Aug. 12 to report finding his wife unresponsive in a bathroom of the couple’s row home. But detectives turned their investigation on him after finding no sign of forced entry. Police say they observed scratches on his forehead, and they say that Muth presented a forged document upon Drath’s death stating that he was entitled to a portion of their estate.