A Woodbridge man charged in the abduction and death of an Alexandria woman has asked to represent himself at his trial.
Keith Baskerville, 19, asked a judge at a hearing Friday in Prince William Circuit Court to remove his court appointed attorney from his case and either appoint a new attorney or allow him to represent himself.
Substitute Prince William Circuit Court Judge Herman A. Whisenant said he wouldn’t appoint a new lawyer, but Baskerville could hire a different lawyer if he chose to. He also told Baskerville that representing himself would be a mistake.
Baskerville is charged with murder, abduction and carjacking in the September death of 60-year-old Barbara Bosworth.
Police said Baskerville and 19-year old Lutchman Chandler abducted Bosworth from Springfield Mall and drove her to a PDQ Mart in Woodbridge, where they tried to use her ATM card to withdraw money.
The men then left the store with Bosworth and crashed their car while fleeing the area from police.
Bosworth died at the scene.
Chandler, who police said was driving the car at the time of the accident, later died from his injuries.
In March, a judge declared Baskerville, who suffered head injuries in the crash and had previously been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, incompetent to stand trial and ordered him to a state mental hospital for treatment to restore his competency.
Baskerville was discharged from the hospital, returned to the Prince William-Manassas regional jail and declared competent to stand trial in June.
At Friday’s hearing, Baskerville, reading from a statement written on a yellow legal pad, said he thought his court-appointed defense attorney, John Notarriani, was not doing enough to help him prepare for trial.
“He doesn’t visit me enough,” Baskerville said. “He doesn’t do things he should be doing.”
Notarriani and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Richard Conway both said they felt Notarriani has been doing enough to prepare for Baskerville’s trial.
Whisenant agreed and said he wouldn’t appoint a new attorney to represent Baskerville.
Baskerville then asked if he could represent himself.
Whisenant said that Baskerville has the right to represent himself, but it would be a mistake.
“That would be the biggest mistake of your life,” he said.
Baskerville then said he would keep Notarriani as his attorney.
Notarriani said another review of Baskerville’s mental health may be needed because he has started having auditory hallucinations again.
A review of Baskerville’s case is scheduled for Aug. 21.
He is scheduled to stand trial on Oct. 13.
Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014.
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