Lawyers for a man with a background in state politics accused of murder have filed a motion to transfer him to a mental facility.

Attorneys representing Kyle Hayden Lewter, 36, have also filed a motion to have him evaluated by a psychologist. His preliminary hearing has been waived, according to court records.

Lewter is currently being held in Madison County Jail without bond.

According to WAFF, Lewter’s lawyers argue in documents that he has severe mental health issues. He reportedly “went berzerk” while in jail and hallucinated seeing his parents and a state senator he worked for as a campaign manager.

Lewter displayed manic behavior and had to be restrained by jail officials, according to the motion.

Lewter, who had several connections to Republican politics in north Alabama, allegedly sodomized his victim with a plunger on March 6 before killing him, according to court doucments.

He is charged with murder and sexual torture in the March 6 death of 54-year-old Harvest resident Derek Franklin Walls. The suspect and victim knew each other, according to authorities.

He is accused of killing Walls with a hammer.

Lewter was identified in a 2022 social media post as the chairman of Madison County Young Republicans. He also reportedly had a paid position with state Sen. Tom Butler and said in a 2017 interview that he worked on campaigns for ex-U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and former U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions.