The Redmond rescue diver accused of brutally attacking and terrorizing his wife last month has suffered from cognitive decline for more than a year as a result of a series of strokes, according to his lawyer.

Marshall Glenn “Mark” Angel, 78, who faces eight counts including attempted murder for the alleged attack on his wife, Judy, appeared Monday by video in Deschutes County Circuit Court, where a judge allowed a pause in the case while Angel’s mental health is professionally evaluated.

Angel’s attorney, Gabriel Watson, filed a recent motion with the court stating that in November 2020, Angel suffered a series of hemorrhagic strokes that significantly “impaired his mental processing and linguistic function.”

“I have serious concerns that Mr. Angel’s neurologic decline has substantially diminished, or will entirely prevent, his capacity to aid and assist in his defense,” wrote Watson, who added he’s known Angel for 30 years.

As a result of the strokes, Judy Angel had to be named by the court as her husband’s representative in a pending lawsuit. In that civil action, Mark Angel is attempting to recover $80,000 from a builder for alleged deficiencies with a pole barn constructed on the couple’s property.

The state alleges that on Sept. 18, Mark Angel beat his wife with a rock, attempted to strangle her with the sash of a robe, placed a bag over her head, threatened her with a firearm and attempted to throw her in a pond before she escaped.

Prosecutors filed a motion seeking entry of certain “enhancement facts,” including that Angel allegedly acted with “deliberate cruelty” and that he had allegedly attacked his wife numerous times in the past. Enhancement facts can lead to a longer criminal sentence if convicted.

Angel, an expert in whitewater salvage, has no prior criminal record in Oregon.

He now faces eight charges in the alleged attack on his wife, including seven felonies, two of which are Measure 11 charges and subject to mandatory minimum sentencing. The attempted murder charge alone carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Two days after Angel’s arrest, a judge approved an order forbidding Angel from contacting his wife. He remains an inmate of the Deschutes County jail.

He also faces a second criminal case, initiated in June, alleging fourth-degree assault against an 87-year-old Redmond man. He’s pleaded not guilty in that case.