Public defender withdraws as attorney in two Missouri capital murder cases

A Missouri public defender will no longer represent defendants in two high-profile death penalty cases.

Donald Catlett filed motions to withdraw as attorney on April 20. The motion stated Catlett was scheduled to have heart surgery on Wednesday and will be retiring in June.

Catlett was representing both Ian McCarthy and Pablo Serrano-Vitorino.

McCarthy is accused of shooting and killing Clinton police Officer Gary Michael Jr. during a traffic stop last August. He was charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Serrano-Vitorino is facing the death penalty after allegedly killing four people in Kansas City, Kansas, before killing Randy Normann in Montgomery County in March 2016.

The motion states a new attorney will be identified once Catlett’s replacement is hired.