Albrecht Muth claims to be an Iraqi general who regularly talks with the Archangel Gabriel, but that didn’t stop a judge from ruling this morning that he’s mentally competent to stand trial for the 2011 murder of his Georgetown socialite wife, Viola Drath, the Washington Post reports.

Judge Russell F. Canan‘s ruling comes at the end of more than 35 hours of hearings on Muth’s mental competence. A psychologist for the defense testified at trial that Muth would not be able to defend himself properly because he’s obsessed with using the trial to prove that he actually is an Iraqi general, Iraqi denials notwithstanding.

“Mr. Muth believes that fundamentally what is at the center of his trial is the validity of his delusion—although he doesn’t call it a delusion, of course,” the psychiatrist testified, according to Homicide Watch.

When Muth’s case goes to trial, though, it probably won’t be in front of a jury. The Post reports that Muth has said he plans to ask to be tried by a judge instead of a jury.

Photo courtesy Georgetown Patch