Friday, March 22, 2013
The family of murder Georgetown woman, Viola Drath, released a statement Friday, several days after the trial for her murder was indefinitely delayed.
The family of Viola Drath, the Georgetown woman founded murdered in her home in August 2011, say they will wait "as long as it takes" for justice to be served. Tuesday a D.C. Superior court judge vacated a March 25 trial date for Drath's husband, Albrecht Muth, because of his poor health resulting from a hunger fast. No new trial date was set. The case was originally supposed to go to trial in October 2012. Members of the family have sat through the majority of court proceedings, but were not present in the court room Tuesday, when the trial was delayed. They have released very few public statements since Drath's murder. Here is the full statement from the family: “Our family is prepared and willing to wait as long as it takes for justice …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Albrecht Muth's trial, set for March 25, may be delayed.
DC Superior Court Judge Russell Canan Thursday told attorneys involved in the Viola Drath murder trial that he may consider defendant Albrecht Muth's ongoing fast as a voluntary waving of his right to physically appear in court on March 25. Muth's on-again, off-again fast, which he claims he is undergoing for religious reasons, has resulted in his very fragile physical status. His treating physician Dr. Russom Ghebrai said the mere act of moving Muth from a prone position to a seated position causes his heart rate to accelerate and dizziness. Ghebrai said he would not recommend moving Muth from the hospital to the courtroom. After detailing several legal precedents that explore somewhat similar issues to the legal questions involved in the…
Thursday, February 21, 2013
The court determined that the Georgetown murder suspect cannot proceed pro se under the current circumstances.
DC Superior Court Judge Russell F. Canan determined that public defenders should remain the attorneys of record for Georgetown murder suspect Albrecht Muth. A doctor described Muth as being in "imminent risk of sudden death" due to an ongoing fast. Muth is scheduled to face a jury March 25 for the murder of his late wife Viola Drath, who was found strangled and beaten in their Georgetown home in August 2011. In December, the court found Muth competent to stand trial and agreed that he could represent himself. Dr. Russom Ghebrai, who is treating Muth at United Medical Center, told the court Thursday that Muth's fast had rendered him nothing more than "skin and bones." When asked by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Kirschner whether Muth faced…
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The court ruled on Albrecht Muth's ability to represent himself because his most recent hunger strike resulted in ongoing hospitalization.
At a status hearing Wednesday, DC Superior Court Judge Russell F. Canan suspended Georgetown murder defendant Albrecht Muth's right to represent himself and reinstituted his public defenders attorneys, Dana Page and Craig Hickein. Muth, 48, is scheduled to stand trial March 25 for the August 2011 strangling and beating death of his 91-year-old wife, Viola Drath, in their Georgetown home. Muth did not appear in court, but was present via speakerphone from his hospital room at the United Medical Center, according to court records. He was hospitalized last month as a result of his ongoing fast. The court suspended Muth's right to self-representation temporarily because of his "severe health issues," according to court records. However, Canan …
Monday, February 4, 2013
A hunger strike has landed Georgetown murder suspect Albrecht Muth in a local hospital, The Washington Post reports.
Albrecht Muth, the Georgetown man set to go to trial in March for the 2011 strangling death of his wife Viola Drath, is reportedly in the hospital in critical condition because of a hunger strike, The Washington Post reports. Muth, 48, who was found competent in December to stand trial for his wife's death, has been hospitalized because of his hunger strikes in the past. He was arraigned in December on the charge of first degree murder in the death of his wife Viola Drath, 91. He fired his public defender attorneys at that time and told the court he planned to represent himself at his March 25 trial. On Friday, the Washington Post reported that someone who sounded like Muth left a message on a reporter's voice mail stating, "Death is …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Defense suggests Drath family, media influenced St. Elizabeths' doctors as competency hearing for Albrecht Muth continues this week in DC Superior Court.
Opinions from St. Elizabeths Hospital about whether accused Georgetown murderer Albrecht Muth is fit to stand trial have evolved since he was first to admitted to the hospital in February -- an evolution a doctor from the hospital defended Monday as Muth's defense suggested the hospital changed their position due to outside influences. Dr. Michele Godwin, a licensed clinical psychologist from St. Elizabeths Hospital, explained over the course of five hours of testimony Monday how her opinion on Muth's competency shifted since he was first to admitted to the hospital in February: as her team received information, it changed its opinions, she said. Muth is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife Viola Drath, who was found …
Monday, December 10, 2012
The judge set aside two and a half days this week to consider testimony on Albrecht Muth's competency to stand trial in Viola Drath's death.
Albrecht Muth will appear in DC Superior Court three days this week as the defense and prosecution make their cases about his competency to stand trial in the Viola Drath murder case scheduled for March. Last week expert witnesses offered their interpretations of Muth's behavior. Want to stay on top of news in Georgetown? Sign up for our daily or breaking news emails. Dr. Robert Phillips testified for the prosecution that Muth is a narcissist who is fully capable of standing trial. Dr. Shawn Agharkar testified for the defense that Muth is delusional and therefore incompetent to assist in his own defense. Last week Agharkar testified that Muth's fixation on using a defense based on his status of an Iraqi general is proof positive that he …
Monday, December 3, 2012
In first day of hearing, one expert says Georgetown murder defendant Albrecht Muth made "clear choice,"another says he's delusional.
Judge Russel Canan will decide this week between two starkly different interpretations of Albrecht Muth's competence to stand trial: Is he a lying narcissist or a delusional liar? Muth, who is being held at St. Elizabeths mental hospital, is charged in the August 2011 death of his wife, Viola Drath. The couple lived in a townhouse on Q Street in Georgetown until Drath’s murder. Whether he'll be able to face charges for that crime, though, is something upon which medical experts have yet to agree. During a five-hour first day of a competency hearing Monday, the prosecution offered a short audio clip of a conversation between Muth and Dr. Robert Phillips, who for months has argued Muth is competent to stand trial. In the recordings, Muth can…
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Albrecht Muth, accused of murdering his wife Viola Drath in Georgetown, did not appear in court as planned Sept. 6.
Albrecht Muth's attorneys have requested a hearing to contest the recent competency finding issued by St. Elizabeths hospital. Muth was scheduled to appear in court Thursday, where he may have been ruled competent based on the opinion of three experts submitted earlier this week, but was admitted to the emergency room Wednesday night after fainting and complaining of chest pains. He has been fasting and has lost at least 25 pounds, according to a report from his doctors at St. Elizabeths. Muth is indicted on the charge of first degree murder with aggravating circumstances in the death of his wife Viola Drath in her Georgetown home last August. Doctors from St. Elizabeths issued a finding Tuesday in which they agree with two experts for the…
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Doctor: Muth is feigning incompetence, has a Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Two medical experts hired by the government have found Georgetown murder suspect Albrecht Muth competent to stand trial, alleging he has been feigning mental illness to avoid it. Muth is indicted on the charge of first degree murder with aggravating circumstances in the death of his wife Viola Drath in her Georgetown home last August. Muth has been undergoing psychiatric evaluation at St. Elizabeths and recently re-initiated a hunger strike. When doctors first began evaluating Muth, they told the court they were uncertain whether he presented a "genuine psychosis" or "feigned psychological processes in order to avoid prosecution." They later determined he was delusional, but might make sufficient process to become competent for trial. …
Dee Shepherd
2:26 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
It's a tragic story all the way around. Albrecht Muth is most likely going to die. I'm sorry for Ms. Drath's family and wish them peace of mind. more ›