91-Year-Old Man Remains Jailed While His Strength Is Evaluated : Crime: Alfred Pohlmeier is charged with strangling his wife.

Alfred Pohlmeier, the 91-year-old Fillmore man charged with murder for allegedly strangling his 87-year-old wife, will remain in Ventura County Jail for at least another week while officials ponder whether he is too feeble to be kept behind bars.

In a short bail hearing in Ventura County Superior Court on Tuesday, attorneys and Judge Charles W. Campbell decided to give officials more time to evaluate Pohlmeier and look for alternative places where he can be held.

Ventura County mental health officials briefly evaluated Pohlmeier last week to determine whether he should be named a ward of the county. They determined that Pohlmeier did not meet the requirements because he is not mentally disabled.

However, they said that they had been unable to evaluate Pohlmeier for 30 days in a row as they usually do in such cases and that they would like to continue monitoring his condition.

Pohlmeier is believed to be the oldest murder defendant in Ventura County history. One of several nurses hired by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department to check on Pohlmeier 24 hours a day rolled the frail-looking man into the courtroom in a wheelchair.

The attorneys agreed to keep Pohlmeier in jail until Jan. 3, when they will hold another hearing to discuss whether he belongs somewhere other than in a correctional facility. Campbell set Pohlmeier’s trial date for Feb. 5.

A retired postal worker, Pohlmeier was charged with first-degree murder in September for allegedly strangling his wife of 62 years, Lidwina Pohlmeier. Investigators testified before the Ventura County grand jury that Alfred Pohlmeier strangled his wife because her constant coughing prevented him from sleeping at night.

Jailers rushed him to the hospital for brain surgery two weeks ago after he fell in his cell and seriously injured his head. After six days in the hospital, Pohlmeier was taken back to jail.

Public Defender Susan Olson argues that Pohlmeier is too old and sick to be in the Ventura County Jail. She thinks that he belongs in a hospital or another institution that can better take care of his health-care needs.

“It’s just not a humane way to treat a 91-year-old,” she said.

Olson said that Pohlmeier’s mental problems seem to have improved since the surgery, but that she is concerned that they may resurface in jail.

According to Olson, jail doctors have diagnosed Pohlmeier’s disorder as Sundown Syndrome, which can cause some elderly people to become frightened of the dark, leading to erratic behavior.

“That could be a factor in the defense,” she said, adding that if he is convicted, Pohlmeier may become the oldest inmate in the state prison system.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Don Glynn argues that Pohlmeier should be treated as much as possible like any other murder defendant. He added that placing Pohlmeier in Camarillo State Hospital, which has medical wings that are secure, is still an option. “It seems real murky right now,” Glynn said. “All we can say is that we have a trial date in February, and he’s going to be housed in jail until at least next week.”