By Sharon Coolidge
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COLUMBUS - The former Madeira-Indian Hill fire captain jailed in an attack on a Columbus woman in May was found incompetent to stand trial by a Franklin County Common Pleas judge Tuesday.

Based on evaluations from a state psychologist and another psychologist hired by his defense attorney, Judge Deborah O'Neill committed Michael Cornelius to the Timothy B. Moritz Forensic Unit, a maximum-security forensic psychiatric hospital in Columbus, saying he was mentally ill and could not assist in his own defense.

Cornelius, charged with aggravated burglary and abduction, will be re-evaluated in three months, but could stay at the treatment center for up to a year, said his Columbus-based attorney, Tom Beal.

"He has a history of severe depression. The setting he was in only exacerbated it," Beal said.

Cornelius pleaded not guilty to the charges and resigned from the fire district shortly after his arrest May 8.

Madeira-Indian Hill Fire Chief Steve Ashbrock did not return a phone call for comment.

Cornelius, a 33-year-old married father of three, is accused of breaking into the home of a 21-year-old woman near The Ohio State University.

According to Columbus police, a man broke into a West Norwich Avenue home and sneaked up the stairs to the second floor.

The woman saw him lurking outside her door, which was ajar, and rose to see who was there. The intruder flashed a butcher knife and forced her onto the bed.

While they struggled, the woman's roommate returned after running a brief errand and found herself locked out. She caught a glimpse of the intruder and immediately called 911.

Cornelius was in Columbus attending a week-long fire conference.

E-mail scoolidge@enquirer.com