Ryan Welch, 37, is charged with killing his girlfriend, Jessica Pripstein, in February of 2012.
NORTHAMPTON — A Hampshire Superior Court judge postponed a status conference in the Ryan Welch murder case on Tuesday because the lawyer appointed to assist Welch in his own defense could not make it to court.
Ryan Welch Welch, 37, is charged with killing his girlfriend, Jessica Pripstein, in February 2012. Police summoned by Pripstein arrived at her Easthampton apartment to find her dead from wounds to her throat. Welch was discovered in another room of the apartment with non-fatal wounds.
Welch, who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, has asked to represent himself at trial. At his request, a judge dismissed his appointed attorney, Paul Rudof.
Attorney John Morris was then scheduled to assist Welch during the trial, which was scheduled for October. However, Morris requested that Welch be examined to determine whether or not he is capable of defending himself. The results of that examination were expected to be revealed Tuesday, but Judge Bertha D. Josephson announced that Morris was tied up in a jury trial in Eastern Massachusetts.
Josephson postponed the status conference to Wednesday. If Morris is still not available then, she said, the parties will return to court on Friday. Josephson said she will also try to set a new trial date for Welch at the conference.
The Welch trial also will affect the scheduling of the Jeb Daly murder trial. Daly is accused of murdering his live-in girlfriend at their Huntington home. The lawyers in that case told Josephson on Tuesday that they are awaiting word on the Welch trial to set a date.
Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Bucci, who is the prosecutor in both the Welch and Daly cases, said he would prefer to try Welch first because the incident preceded the one in which Daly is charged. Josephson said she will set a date as soon as she knows about Welch.