PARIS – A dramatic weight loss has prompted Judge Robert E. Crowley to order murder suspect Christian C. Nielsen to be placed in a mental institution for evaluation.

According to a motion filed by defense attorney Ron E. Hoffman on Monday, Nielsen has lost 53 pounds since his incarceration at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland.

When he was booked at the Oxford County Jail on Sept. 4, he weighed 150 lbs., administrator Capt. Ernest Martin said. Nielsen is 6 feet tall, according to his booking sheet.

Martin said Portland jail administrator Francis Breton told him Wednesday that Nielsen now weighs 105 lbs.

Nielsen was transferred to the Portland facility Sept. 8 after attacking a fellow inmate at the Oxford County Jail in Paris.

Mark Dion, sheriff of Cumberland County, said Wednesday that Nielsen’s weight had dropped even more, to about 103 pounds. Dion is seeking collateral but separate authority to force-feed Nielsen, saying his condition could become “irretrievable” if his weight falls below 100 pounds. He said Nielsen’s blood work shows that his body is consuming its muscle tissues.

“If we can save his life, then we can talk about his mental illness, if that’s present,” Dion said.

Dion said Nielsen’s weight loss had become more noticeable in the past month, as the inmate became more selective about his food intake and increased his physical activity in his cell. His actions did not violate any policy, but the jail’s medical services tried unsuccessfully to increase his caloric intake with intravenous supplements when the weight loss grew more rapid.

Dion said an affidavit has been drafted requesting the force-feeding and will be presented before a judge today.

“I believe the risk to him is so grave that we need to be able to act immediately upon the judge’s signature,” Dion said.

Dion said the attorneys in the case were informed of the situation Monday, the same day of Hoffman’s motion. According to the motion, Debbie Baeder, chief medical forensic scientist for the state, agreed that Nielsen has mental issues that warrant an examination at Riverview Psychiatric Hospital in Augusta.

The judge’s order, which was signed and filed in Oxford County Superior Court on Wednesday, places Nielsen under the custody of Brenda Harvey, commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. It says he must be placed in “an appropriate institution for the mentally ill or the mentally retarded” for 60 days or less.

Andrew Benson, assistant attorney general in the state’s criminal division and prosecuting attorney in the Nielsen case, said the evaluation is due to new concerns about Nielsen’s competence in the trial. Dion said severe weight loss can affect cognitive abilities, which brings up the question of competence.

Benson did not object to the motion, but still plans to address the case in October.

Capt. Martin said he was informed that Nielsen will be transported as soon as a bed is available at the Riverview facility. David Proffitt, superintendent of the Riverview Psychiatric Center, confirmed that no room is currently available at the facility, but that an examination of the type Nielsen needs is usually admitted within five to 10 days of the court order.

According to its Web site, the Riverview Psychiatric Center is a state-operated facility designed for the treatment of people with mental illness. It has 92 beds.

Proffitt said 48 of the beds are used for civil commitments, 24 for long-term inmate patients who have been found not criminally responsible for an offense due to a medical condition, and 20 are for inmates who are there for relatively short periods of time. He said one of the beds is for quick psychiatric access from a jail, and the facility tries to return the inmate within 72 hours.

Martin said the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office will transport Nielsen to the facility once room is available.

The order states that the Harvey will inform the court when the State Forensic Service deems Nielsen’s detention for observation no longer necessary.

The commissioner’s office at the DHHS declined to comment. Hoffman was not available for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Nielsen, who turned 32 on Wednesday, of 829 Sunday River Road in Newry, is accused of killing four people in Upton and Newry over Labor Day weekend: James Whitehurst, 50, of Batesville, Ark.; Julie Bullard, 65, of Newry; Selby Bullard, 30, of Bethel; and Cindy Beatson, 43, of Bethel.