Insanity Plea Possible for Hilbun, Lawyer Says : Violence: The former postal worker’s psychiatric background will be thoroughly investigated in preparing a defense, says Orange County’s top public defender.

Orange County’s top public defender said Sunday that his office will conduct a “very thorough” review of whether fired postal worker Mark Richard Hilbun should enter an insanity plea on charges in connection with last week’s killings.

“That plea is certainly possible,” Orange County Public Defender Ronald Y. Butler said in an interview. “Anybody who has followed that case would probably say it’s likely, but I can’t go that far.”

Hilbun, fired from the Postal Service last December in part because he allegedly stalked a co-worker for months, is scheduled to be arraigned today in Orange County Municipal Court on two counts of murder and at least three counts of attempted murder.

In a series of attacks that terrorized residents in coastal regions of Orange County for two days, police allege that Hilbun stabbed his mother to death Thursday morning and later opened fire on former co-workers in the Dana Point post office, killing one man and wounding another.

Police say the 39-year-old Dana Point resident then shot and wounded at least four more people in three separate attacks before he was apprehended about 12:30 a.m. Saturday in a Huntington Beach bar.

Police have painted a contradictory portrait of Hilbun, who was hospitalized twice in recent months for manic-depression and was treated with lithium.

Authorities have credited the suspect for his “cunning” in switching license plates and taking other maneuvers to elude a far-reaching manhunt for about 38 hours. But they also expressed amazement over Hilbun’s audacity in remaining in the area and courting capture in a crowded bar.

“It’s almost like he wanted to be caught,” one police officer said.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Maury L. Evans said Sunday that he could not comment on the case. “We just don’t know where it’s at. When he gets to court, we’ll go forward,” he said.

Butler said attorneys in his office will look closely at Hilbun’s psychiatric profile in preparing a defense, especially because the defendant could face the death penalty if convicted. One deputy public defender met with the suspect Saturday in jail.

“I would guess that because of his psychiatric background, there’s a lot of investigation that has to be done. In view of that fact, the working of this office will be very thorough and tedious,” Butler said.

In general, Butler said, defense attorneys look at three main areas in deciding whether to pursue an insanity defense: the nature of the crime, the suspect’s demeanor in post-arrest meetings with the defense lawyer and any history of “psychiatric disturbance.”

“It’s very important to determine if there’s any past history of psychiatric treatment, and obviously that would support a plea of insanity. That would be evidence of a state of mind,” Butler said.

Defendants judged insane are generally sent to state psychiatric institutions instead of the state prison system.

Hilbun is being held without bail in Orange County Jail. A judge could set bail when Hilbun makes his first appearance in court today, but Butler said: “I can’t see any judge giving him bail in this particular case” because of the number of alleged victims and the history of psychiatric treatment.

Sheriff’s officials investigated Thursday’s post office assault and the slaying of the suspect’s 63-year-old mother, Frances Hilbun, found stabbed to death in her home Thursday along with her cocker spaniel. They were later joined in the probe by police in Newport Beach and Fountain Valley as the number of attacks grew. Postal officials also aided in the investigation.