Waukesha - A 50-year-old Waukesha man charged in the June 16 stabbing death of his girlfriend was found incompetent to stand trial and was committed Thursday to the state Department of Health Services for mental health treatment.
Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge James R. Kieffer determined during a hearing that Daniel K. Christesen requires the involuntary administration of psychotropic medications and treatment, according to online court records.
Christesen's attorney, Donna Kuchler, said that Christesen will be sent to a secure state mental health institution, either Mendota or Winnebago.
It is expected that with treatment, Christesen could be competent to stand trial within 12 months, Deputy District Attorney Stephen J. Centinario Jr. said.
Kieffer scheduled a June 11 hearing on the case to review then whether Christesen is fit to stand trial.
But Centinario said Christesen will be re-evaluated after three months and the hearing date could be moved up from June.
Christesen is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Carol Fisher, 55. He is accused of repeatedly stabbing her with a 10-inch butcher knife in his Waukesha apartment.
Fisher, 55, and Christesen lived in separate flats in a duplex in the 900 block of Arcadian Ave. in Waukesha.
Police say Christesen contacted them the evening of June 16, saying he fatally stabbed Fisher in his flat.
Christesen peacefully surrendered to police, a Bible in one hand, a phone in the other, the complaint says. He asked emergency medical personnel: "Do you think I will go to hell for this?"
According to the criminal complaint, Christesen said he stabbed Fisher because he had grown tired of her constant arguing.
She had written him a note days earlier, saying she was leaving him, the document says. He admitted he had not taken all his psychiatric medications that day, the complaint says.