Muth Murder Trial Postponed to Jan. 6

Set to begin today, the trial of Albrecht Muth, accused of killing his 91-year-old wife Viola Drath in August 2011, has been postponed again.

Public records indicate another status conference on Dec. 18, according to the Associated Press, with a new trial date scheduled for Jan. 6.

Claiming that he is innocent, Muth will be tried in D.C. Superior Court on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Drath.

A veteran journalist and married previously to an Army colonel, Viola Drath was found dead in a bathroom of her home on Q Street in August 2011 after being strangled and beaten. She and Muth were known around town for their dinner parties at her home with a mix of political, diplomatic, military and media VIPs. Drath was 44 years older than Muth.

Seen around Georgetown in faux military garb, Muth was perceived by neighbors and shopkeepers as, simply, a oddball. In recent years, he said that he was a member of the Iraqi Army. He went so far as to have arranged a 2010 ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery for Iraqi Liberation Day.

Muth has been on periodic hunger strikes in a mental asylum cell. His hunger strikes began in December 2012 after he was ruled competent to stand trial. In March of this year, a doctor deemed Muth too weak to stand trial. At that time, a judge postponed the trial until Dec. 2.