WASHINGTON — The man charged with fatally stabbing a D.C. woman last September as she was out for an evening run has been deemed temporarily not competent to move forward with court proceedings.
A mental health screening for 23-year-old Anthony Crawford was ordered at a hearing last week, and the determination that he was not competent at this time was made Tuesday, a spokesman with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. told WTOP.
The Department of Behavioral Health recommended that Crawford undergo a full competency evaluation at the D.C. jail. His case remains pending, and his next hearing is set for March 8, spokesman Bill Miller said.
Police say Crawford attacked Wendy Martinez as she was running in D.C.’s Logan Circle neighborhood Sept. 18 and stabbed her seven times, including in the neck and the head. The 35-year-old avid runner stumbled into a nearby carryout and collapsed before she died.
Crawford’s attorneys with the District Public Defender Service have argued in prior court hearings that Crawford has mental health issues and should be placed in a psychiatric hospital.
A relative of Crawford’s told police he has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and had stopped taking his medication at the time of the stabbing.
In previous court hearings late last year, Crawford was seen mumbling to himself and swaying his head.
But prosecutors — who have said they believe Crawford shoplifted the knife used in the stabbing from a nearby Giant — said that demonstrates malice and that Crawford had the “wherewithal to lie” to police when they first identified him as a suspect.
Judge Craig Iscoe ordered Crawford to be held at the D.C. jail until he was found competent to continue with the proceedings.
While he has yet to enter a plea or be indicted, the judge ruled last year that Crawford will face a second-degree murder charge.
Martinez’s stabbing shocked both the D.C. running community and the Logan Circle neighborhood where she was attacked, which is dotted with restaurants, bars and patios.
The Georgetown graduate was engaged to be married just a week before she was stabbed to death. Police said they believe it was a random attack.
Late last year, Martinez’s former employer, FiscalNote, and the Greater Washington Community Foundation announced the Wendy Martinez Legacy Project to advance women in the technology sector.
Martinez’s family and friends — including her fiancé, Daniel Hincapie — will run the fund.
