Man Charged In Vanessa Marcotte Murder To Change Lawyers
WORCESTER (CBS) - The man charged with killing Vanessa Marcotte will be getting a new public defender.
Angelo Colon-Ortiz, of Worcester, is charged with murder in the death of Marcotte back in 2016.
"It was clear he had no confidence in our ability to defend him," said attorney Louis Aloise, who requested that Colon-Ortiz receive a new public defender Thursday. Aloise and Colon-Ortiz cited "irreconcilable differences" in court.
Marcotte, a 27-year-old Google executive and 2011 Boston College grad, was visiting her mother's Princeton home from New York and went for a run the afternoon of Aug. 7, 2016. Her body was found naked and burned off Brooks Station Road, just a half mile from her mother's home.
DNA evidence found under Marcotte's fingernails led police to Colon-Ortiz. Police took a voluntary DNA sample from him, which matched the DNA found on Marcotte.
Colon-Ortiz was arrested in April 2016 and has pleaded not guilty to murder.
In December, the attorney representing Colon-Ortiz filed a motion stating that his client, whose native language is Spanish, doesn't understand English and didn't understand a police interpreter, so couldn't voluntarily give a DNA sample. The attorney claimed that the collection of the DNA violated Colon-Ortiz's constitutional rights.
