Murder trial delayed when defendant fires attorney
By Ruth Ann Krause Post-Tribune correspondent February 22, 2012 3:40PM
Updated: March 24, 2012 9:01AM
The murder and neglect trial of a Hobart man charged in the death of a 3-year-old Griffith boy ended abruptly with the defendant firing his attorney.
Levi Edward Hiatt, 28, who has pleaded not guilty in Lake Superior Court in the death of Comer Watkins, abruptly fired defense attorney James Thiros on Wednesday morning after jurors had been told to arrive for opening statements and the first witnesses in the prosecution’s case.
Thiros said he could offer no explanation for his dismissal.
Judge Diane Ross Boswell scheduled a March 15 status hearing for Hiatt, who initially was charged with three felony neglect counts punishable by a maximum 50-year sentence. A murder charge was filed on May 31, about one week before Hiatt’s first jury trial date.
The case has been scheduled for trial four times, and Thiros attempted to delay the start of the trial on Monday, but Boswell denied the request.
Days before Hiatt’s last jury trial date on Oct. 24, Thiros hired as a medical expert forensic pathologist John Cavanaugh, who has worked for the Lake County coroner’s office. After jury selection on Monday, Boswell agreed to a scheduling accommodation to allow deputy prosecutors Angela Brown and Reginald Marcus and Thiros to depose Cavanaugh on Tuesday. No deposition was taken, however, after Brown said they were told Thiros would not be calling Cavanaugh as a witness.
Prosecutors learned at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday about Hiatt’s decision to retain new legal representation.
Prosecutors had prepared to present evidence that Hiatt was left to care for his then-girlfriend’s child while the mother was at work. Between April 11, 2010, and April 12, 2010, at an apartment in the 1700 block of North Arbogast Street where the couple was living, Hiatt told police he jumped on the bed to awaken the boy, misjudged the landing and injured the boy’s genitals.
While he was trying to check the boy’s injury in the bathroom, Hiatt told police the child was screaming and crying. Hiatt became frustrated, grabbed the boy’s legs and pulled him forward, causing the child to strike his head, the probable cause affidavit states.
The toddler, who lay injured and unconscious for about 19 hours, died from head trauma caused by child abuse, according to the Cook County, Ill., medical examiner’s office. The child had been taken to University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital after initially being transported to Community Hospital in Munster.
Comments Click here to view or make a comment