2016 Murder Trial Again Delayed Over Mental Competency Issue

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In a March 22 hearing before DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun, a murder defendant’s trial was delayed.

Brandon Byrd‘s homicide trial was pushed to March of 2025 due to his inpatient status at St. Elizabeths psychiatric hospital, which was extended in early March. 

Byrd, 28, faces second-degree murder charges for his alleged involvement in the killing of his father, Otis Byrd, 44, in a stabbing that took place Aug. 10, 2016, on the 100 block of Michigan Avenue, NW. 

Byrd has been held for mental examinations since Nov. 4, 2016, and has been declared incompetent to stand trial since July 2017.

During the hearing, Byrd’s defense attorney, Craig Hickein, requested a motion to dismiss the case, which was adamently denied by Judge Okun for the second year in a row. 

A status hearing is scheduled to take place on March 21, 2025, following the conclusion of the defendant’s renewed psychiatric inpatient status.