Mother Of Santa Rosa Murder Defendant Arrested For Battery
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- The mother of a Santa Rosa man charged with the brutal stabbing death of his father was arrested Friday morning for battery on a Sonoma County Superior Court bailiff.
Marilyn Herczog, 57 of Forestville, was attending a hearing about a psychiatrist's examination of her son Houston when her cellphone rang.
She had trouble turning it off and when court bailiffs approached to physically lead her out of Judge Dana Simonds courtroom, she held up a photograph of her son and his father Mark Herczog.
The hearing continued uninterrupted, and Herczog could be heard in the hallway saying, "Help me judge, they're hurting me."
In the hallway outside the courtroom, the bailiffs said Herczog was arrested for misdemeanor battery on an officer.
Houston Herczog, 22, has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to killing his father in their Santa Rosa home on Nov. 21, 2011. His trial is scheduled to start April 5.
Deputy Public Defender Karen Silver said two psychologists who examined Herczog determined he was insane at the time of the murder.
Deputy District Attorney Robert Waner requested another exam by a psychiatrist, who examined Herczog on Wednesday.
Waner said he had not received the results of that exam as of this morning.
Silver told the judge she needs the results of the exam as soon as possible. She said the defense is entitled to the results of the latest exam and all other evidence 30 days before trial.
Silver asked the judge to compel Waner to produce the exam results by the end of Friday, but Simonds instead set another hearing for Tuesday morning.
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