TOWSON, Md. (AP) — The lawyer for a man charged with killing the mother of his daughters and fleeing to South Carolina with one of their children has entered a plea of not criminally responsible.

Mark Van Bavel entered the plea Thursday in Baltimore County Circuit Court. He says his client is not criminally responsible by reason of insanity.

Police say the man stabbed the woman to death on March 6 in her Dundalk home, then kidnapped one daughter. The two were found March 7 in Florence, South Carolina.

Van Bavel said that given the nature of the alleged offenses, it is appropriate that his client undergo a psychological examination.

The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sex crimes and is not identifying the man, his daughter or the daughter’s mother.

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