Jury Deadlocks on Whether Man Should Be Tried in Slaying : Courts: The panel is unable to decide if a man accused of stabbing a woman to death is mentally fit. He says he has spoken with Jesus.

A jury announced Tuesday that it was unable to reach a verdict on whether a murder defendant, who described himself as a fallen angel who has spoken with Jesus, was mentally competent to stand trial.

Jurors in the unusual Van Nuys Superior Court hearing told Judge James M. Coleman that they had deadlocked, 9 to 3, in favor of finding Christopher Michael Rowland, 22, incompetent to stand trial. The jurors had deliberated for a day and a half before making the announcement Tuesday afternoon.

The deadlock means a new jury will have to be selected to determine the matter, said Rowland’s lawyer, Deputy Public Defender William M. Thornbury. Jury selection in the new hearing was scheduled to begin Nov. 5. A separate jury will be chosen if Rowland stands trial.

After the announcement, Coleman ordered Rowland to be re-examined by the same two psychiatrists who testified Thursday that the defendant suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and major depression as well as from possible side effects of long-term drug abuse. At Rowland’s request, Coleman ordered the defendant to be examined by a third psychiatrist as well.

The psychiatrists and Rowland are expected to testify at the upcoming hearing, Thornbury said. If found incompetent, Rowland will be housed in a mental hospital until doctors determine he is able to stand trial.

Rowland is accused of stabbing to death Roberta Rosentheim, 18, in a Van Nuys motel on Feb. 12, eight days after he met her. Rosentheim had been introduced to Rowland, a drifter, by her brother and immediately fell in love with him, family members said.

Coleman on Tuesday also denied Rowland’s request to represent himself in the case. Rowland testified during an hourlong monologue Thursday that it was his anger over the public defender’s handling of his case that led to his being branded insane by his lawyer and others involved in the case.

Rowland had accused the public defender’s office of working with prosecutors and the judge to lock him away in a mental hospital so he would be incarcerated without ever going to trial. He said he appeared delusional during interviews with the psychiatrists because he was taking powerful antipsychotic drugs.

But Rowland also told jurors: “If I can put it very briefly, I’m a fallen angel. I believe Jesus spoke to me three times. This feeling of love and peace washed over my whole body and a voice said, ‘Be a warrior for me and you’ll have all you desire.’ ”