Lawyers for Mom Police Said Tried to Kill Autistic Daughter Want Off Case

Heidi Hodek said she and another lawyer from her firm have had a “total breakdown” with their client, Kelli Stapleton, 46, and should be removed as defense counsel before Stapleton’s trial begins on charges that she tried to kill her autistic daughter.

Stapleton was accused last year of lighting charcoal grills inside a closed van in hopes of killing herself and her autistic daughter by carbon monoxide poisoning, the Associated Press reports in a story published by The Detroit News. Her attempted murder trial is set to begin Sept. 3 in Benzie County Circuit Court.

Around the time she was charged, Stapleton wrote a lengthy post on her blog, The Status Woe, explaining she had “battle fatigue” from trying to care for her daughter, Isabelle, who was 14 at the time whose autism caused frequent violent outbursts, according to a 2013 Detroit Free Press report.

In a more recent entry on the blog, a friend of Stapleton’s appealed for financial donations to help her hire an expert witness who would testify about the emotional toll of Isabella’s reported increased aggression toward her mother. Without persuasive expert testimony, Stapleton could go to prison for life, according to the post.

Hodek wrote in her pre-trial brief that Stapleton has accused her of “not having her interests at heart” and said her client is “increasingly hostile.” Hodek argued that she can’t provide “detached and objective legal advice” because the attorney-client relationship is so strained.

Benzie County Judge James Batzer turned down the request and ordered Hodek to remain on the case unless Stapleton fired her.