By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — A schizophrenic man murdered his philanthropist mother with a butcher knife and then placed it in her hand as she lay bloodied and lifeless in her bedroom in an attempt to cover up his crime, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Jonathan Schwartz, 41, called 911 to say he killed Barbara Schwartz, 67, before backtracking and claiming her death was a suicide after the July 2 attack, according to his criminal complaint.
Schwartz answered the door for police with "blood on his hands and shirt" told them his mother had killed herself, even after cops said he first told an emergency operator he'd murdered his mother.
The suspect was arraigned from the Bellevue Hospital psychiatric ward Wednesday, where he is being monitored and treated.
A psychiatric fitness exam was ordered by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Melissa Jackson to determine whether the prosecution can proceed.
Barbara Schwartz, who headed the Weiden Schwartz Fischler Family Foundation, was slashed to her neck and torso at 45 East 85th Street near Park Avenue. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect's attorney, Daniel Gotlin, said Schwartz is "very ill" and has a long history of mental illness.He declined to comment on whether Schwartz was medicated at the time of the incident.
Schwartz is due back in court on Aug. 10.
