FILLMORE : Custody of Ill Murder Suspect Still Unresolved

Attorneys in the case of a 91-year-old man accused of killing his wife remained deadlocked Thursday over whether to release the Fillmore man because of his failing health.

Defense attorneys want Alfred Pohlmeier, who is hospitalized with a head injury, released to the care of his family, while prosecutors say he must remain under guard either in jail or at a convalescent facility.

Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. set a bail review hearing to discuss the matter further Monday, which is the date that Pohlmeier’s trial was supposed to start. A delay now seems all but certain.

Authorities returned Pohlmeier to the Ventura County jail infirmary in stable condition Thursday after he was hospitalized at the county hospital. Pohlmeier, the oldest known murder defendant in the county’s history, fell down in his cell and injured his head last week, deputies said.

Susan Olson, Pohlmeier’s court-appointed attorney, said the man suffers from a blood clot inside his skull.

Olson asked Campbell on Thursday to consider releasing Pohlmeier to his family, who could arrange proper medical care. “It is not proper for him to be in jail,” said Olson, a deputy public defender. “It is killing him.”

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald C. Glynn said given the charges filed against Pohlmeier, authorities should not release the man back into the community.

“Although [Pohlmeier] is infirm and has suffered a fall . . . the fact remains that he is accused of murder,” Glynn said.

Pohlmeier, who turned 91 in jail in November, is charged with strangling his 86-year-old wife, Lidwina Pohlmeier, until she lost consciousness Sept. 13. She died in the hospital two days later.

Campbell denied Olson’s earlier request to free Pohlmeier without posting bail and has ordered the man held in lieu of $250,000. If convicted on a premeditated murder charge, Pohlmeier could face 25 years to life in prison.