Accused Richland murderer was not sane when he attacked his mom, his attorney says

May 31—A 30-year-old former firefighter is expected to enter a plea of not guilty by reason insanity when he returns to court next week to face charges that he killed his mother.

David Joseph Lowe appeared briefly in Benton County Superior Court on Wednesday after undergoing psychiatric treatment at Eastern State Hospital in Medical Lake.

Evaluator Jessica R. Hart said after about four months of treatment for schizophrenia, Lowe now can understand the court proceedings and help his attorney at a trial.

Lowe is accused of breaking into his mother's home in July 2022 to confront her and her husband, Andy Davis. At the time, he allegedly thought his mother, Bethany Lowe, and her longtime boyfriend, had harmed his young daughter, who was actually safe and living with her mother.

His mom died and his stepfather was seriously wounded.

On Wednesday, his attorney, Michael Vander Sys, told the judge that they plan to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity to the charges of premeditated first-degree murder, attempted premeditated first-degree murder and first-degree burglary.

Vander Sys said his expert is finishing up his own report on Lowe's ability to understand what he was doing at the time of the murder.

Once prosecutors get that report, Lowe will likely be evaluated again by Washington state psychologists. That could happen either at the Benton County jail or at Eastern State Hospital.

After that a judge could decide after a hearing about Lowe's sanity at the time of the crime or a jury could decided the issue.

The criminal case has been on hold since Aug. 1, when a judge ordered a competency evaluation for Lowe.

Initially, he told mental health evaluators that he was being used to test pharmaceutical drugs, that he heard voices and that an imaginary group called "Dancing Bear" with ties to the Ku Klux Klan was harassing him.

Prescriptions were issued but Lowe stopped taking them, leading to a January hearing when a judge required him to take the anti-psychotic medications.

Before the murder, Lowe had a history of getting treatment for a methamphetamine addiction, but received little help for his problems with schizophrenia, according to Eastern State Hospital reports.

This story was originally published May 31, 2023, 6:10 PM.

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