KELSO — A Cowlitz County judge has ordered a 52-year-old man charged with killing his father to be forcibly medicated so he can become mentally competent to stand trial.
The Daily News of Longview says that David Altman is accused of stabbing and beating 92-year-old Bernie Altman, a longtime mental health advocate, to death last month.
A psychiatrist with Western State Hospital, Margaret Dean, told Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Michael Evans on Tuesday that medicating Altman would likely restore him to competency.
She based her evaluation on a report by another psychologist who determined he was suffering from psychosis caused either by illicit drugs or by schizophrenia.
One of Altman’s lawyers, Simmie Baer, argued against forcible medication and said should be allowed to voluntarily take his medication while at Western.
