Defendant Found Incompetent to Stand Trial for the Second Time in 2016 Fatal Stabbing Case 

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A Baltimore man charged with murder was committed to a hospital after being found incompetent to stand trial. 

According to the Maryland Judiciary website, defendant Christopher Straham was found incompetent to stand trial on Jan. 4.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Gale E. Rasin informed all parties on Jan. 11, that Straham had been admitted into Clifton T. Perkins Hospital a week prior.

The defendant’s competency has wavered over the past six years. In 2017, Straham was found incompetent to stand trial, but this decision was reversed in June 2019. 

In November, Straham was competent to stand trial, but his former defense attorney Romel Showell told Judge Rasin that a doctor said he was acting bizarre.

Straham, 26, is charged with first-degree murder, the use of a deadly weapon with the intent to injure, armed robbery and attempted armed robbery in connection to an incident that occurred on Dec. 2, 2016.z

According to WBAL TV, Straham was arrested and charged with the fatal stabbing of 73-year-old Andras Horvath on the 400 block of N. Highland Avenue in front of a Popeyes in 2016.