Public defender wants out of Choate case
By Ruth Ann Krause Post-Tribune correspondent September 28, 2012 4:46PM
Riley Choate
Updated: October 30, 2012 6:10AM
Within days after a judge appointed the public defender’s office in a high-profile murder case, the attorney assigned to the case is asking to withdraw his representation or delay the trial.
Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell is expected on Monday to hear the motion by defense attorney Lemuel Stigler, who is in charge of the county public defender’s office conflicts division, to either allow him to withdraw his appearance on behalf of Riley Lowell Choate or to postpone the trial, which is set to begin Oct. 9.
Stigler was appointed Sept. 24 to act as co-counsel with defense attorney Randy Godshalk, who has three times sought to withdraw from the case because of financial concerns and the deterioration of the attorney-client relationship.
Choate, 40, of Hammond, has pleaded not guilty to murder, neglect and other charges in the death of his 13-year-old son, Christian Choate, who authorities allege was killed in 2009. The boy’s body was found buried under a shed in 2011 in the Black Oak mobile home park where the family once lived.
Choate’s ex-wife, Kimberly Leona Kubina, 47, of Gary, has pleaded guilty to neglect in exchange for a sentence of 25 to 35 years in the boy’s death.
