TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A Tulsa County judge has denied a request for a protective order in the case of an English teacher accused of killing his wife.
John Robert Kastner, 50, is charged with the first-degree murder of his wife, Lori Kastner, 44.
Assistant Public Defender Marny Hill, representing Kastner, maintained that “much of the media reports covering this case have been fueled by inappropriate extra judicial statements to the media from law enforcement personnel.”
The defense lawyer asserted that police at a June 27 press conference, announced that Kastner “is a cold-blooded murderer” who lied to a dispatcher and also lied to his friends and family members.
Hill sought a court order “restraining all parties and agents of any party from any further public comment or statement regarding the facts or circumstances” surrounding the case.
In a response, First Assistant District Attorney Doug Drummond said, “there is no evidence in the record supporting such a remedy.”
World Publishing Co., the publisher of the Tulsa World, filed a motion on Friday to intervene for the limited purpose of contesting the request for a protective order.
“Despite being called a protective order, it is clear that what the defendant is seeking is a gag order,” World attorney Schaad Titus wrote.
After hearing arguments from lawyers, Special Judge Cliff Smith declined Monday to issue any order to restrain public comment regarding the case.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Aug. 25.
The Tulsa school board voted last week to terminate Kastner’s employment.
Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com
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