Griffith man accused of killing 3-year-old fires attorney as murder trial kicks off

CROWN POINT | The firing of attorney James Thiros just prior to Wednesday's opening arguments in the trial of a Griffith man accused of killing a 3-year-old left the child's mother near collapse.

Concerned court officials came to the aid of the mother of Comer Watkins, alleged to have been killed by the woman's then-boyfriend, Levi Hiatt. The woman was taken by wheelchair to a waiting car.

The rare last-minute development also stunned longtime court watchers who had gathered to hear the trial begin in earnest.

Jurors in the murder trial of the 28-year-old Hiatt had been selected during daylong proceedings Monday.

The trial was to resume Wednesday with both sides presenting their case to the jury. Instead Hiatt fired Thiros first thing in the morning, followed by Lake Criminal Court Judge Diane Boswell warning Hiatt of the consequences.

Those consequences include a $1,000 penalty for jury expenses and a wait of several months for another trial, Boswell told Hiatt, who is in custody at the Lake County Jail.

It was unclear immediately what prompted Hiatt to seek another attorney.

"He has a right to do that," Thiros said later.

Hiatt is accused of killing the 3-year-old sometime between April 11 and April 12, 2010, while the boy's mother was at work.

A probable cause affidavit states police were called at 2 p.m. April 12 to the Griffith home shared by the couple after Hiatt called the boy's mother at work to tell her the boy was unresponsive.

The child died of head injuries after being airlifted to The University of Chicago Medical Center.

Hiatt told police he injured the boy when he landed on the boy's genitals after jumping onto the bed to wake him up, the affidavit states. After becoming frustrated with the crying child, Hiatt told police he pulled the boy forward by the legs into the bathroom where he fell backward and hit his head on the bathtub and floor.

Hiatt allegedly waited to call 911 for 19 hours after the boy is believed to have been injured.

Prosecutors initially charged Hiatt with four counts of child neglect, punishable by a maximum of 50 years in prison if convicted.

Court records show prosecutors added a murder charge just before going to trial in June, expanding the possible maximum sentence to 65 years upon conviction.

Lake County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Barbara McConnell said Wednesday the murder charge was prompted by the receipt of a medical report on which prosecutors had been waiting.

A review of the report was completed just prior to last year's scheduled trial, which prompted a delay in proceedings, she said.