A Danvers man charged with murder in the strangulation death of a woman in April asked a judge Wednesday to dismiss his public defender and allow him to serve as his own counsel.
Joshua Livingston is accused of killing Melissa Ostrom, 39, on April 17, about a month after he was arrested on domestic battery charges that named Ostrom as the victim.
The 41-year-old defendant first asked Judge William Yoder to appoint a new public defender to represent him, but changed his request to self-representation after Yoder explained that public defender Ron Lewis is in charge of appointing lawyers to cases, not the court.
Livingston said he and first assistant public defender Matthew Koetters have had insufficient consultation on his case.
“I’ve not been able to work on a defense. I don’t even know the particulars of what is being alleged,” said Livingston.
Koetters said Livingston has alleged a conflict of interest for the public defender’s office because Lewis previously represented Ostrom on criminal charges. The attorney denied such a conflict and said he has tried to discuss the case with his client but, “he won’t talk to me.”
Yoder set a hearing for next week to determine if Livingston is qualified to serve as his own counsel.
The judge postponed Livingston’s request to have copies of materials related to his case, something that generally does not occur when a person has an attorney.
In the state’s written objection to Livingston’s request for access to discovery documents, Assistant State’s Attorney Aaron Fredrick cited an order of protection in Livingston’s 2016 divorce. In that case, the court agreed with Livingston’s ex-wife that he “represents a credible threat to the physical safety“ of the woman and her young children.
Among the items Livingston could receive as part of the discovery process is a list of potential witnesses. In recorded jail calls, Livingston allegedly discussed witnesses in his criminal case with another person, according to the state.
One of the eight pending felony charges against Livingston accuses him of violating the terms of his bond in the domestic battery case involving Ostrom. In that case, he was ordered to have no contact with Ostrom after his release, a provision the state alleges he violated when the two were together shortly before her death.
