Suspect receives new attorney
By Laura Pelner
Campus
Editor
The Tippecanoe County
Superior Court appointed a new attorney on Thursday to defend the Purdue
doctoral student accused of killing two sisters on campus on Aug. 2.
Attorney Steven
Meyer is replacing deputy public defender Tom O'Brien as the lead defense
counsel for Zhan Yin, 27, a graduate student in biology. Yin is the
suspected murderer of Yeunkyung Woo, 31, a fellow graduate student in
biology, and her sister, Hyo Kyung Woo, 29, of Chicago.
O'Brien was originally
appointed to defend Yin but filed a motion to withdraw on Wednesday.
He told the court that Yin's case would interfere with his current private
caseload.
Judge Don Johnson
of the Tippecanoe County Superior Court appointed Meyer, a former member
of the county's public defender staff and a certified death penalty
defender, to the case.
"I've got 17 years
of experience, tried several murder trials and other serious felony
cases and I'm certified to handle death penalty cases," said Meyer.
Though he declined
to comment on possible legal defenses, Meyer told the Associated Press
that he's "up to the challenge" of handling Yin's case and he's "eager"
to defend him.
The county prosecutor
handling the case, Jerry Bean, hasn't decided if he'll pursue the death
penalty yet but he's expected to do so within the next few weeks.
If the death penalty
is pursued, Meyer said he's prepared to handle the time commitment the
case would require.
Meyer will work
with two other attorneys on Yin's case - Kevin O'Reilly and Amy Hutchinson.
The Associated
Press contributed to this story.
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