Suspect in doctor's murder asks to be own lawyer

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Lishan Wang, the man accused in the shooting of Yale postdoctoral clinical fellow Vajinder Toor made a request in New Haven Superior Court on Tuesday to fire his public defenders and represent himself, The Associated Press reported.

At the hearing, Judge Roland Fasano requested a competency evaluation of Wang, as Connecticut law states that a defendant must be able to understand the proceedings while standing trial. Wang, 44, is originally from Beijing and has had a Mandarin interpreter present during previous hearings.

According to the New Haven Independent, it is possible that Wang’s court-appointed attorneys would have requested a competency hearing in any case but that his request to represent himself likely accelerated Fasano’s decision.

Wang has yet to enter a plea and is set to appear again in court Sept. 27.