It's been two years since Regina Redman Lollobrigido was attacked with a hammer in her Loudoun County apartment and later died from her injuries.
On Thursday, defense attorneys for her estranged husband and accused killer disclosed an ethical conflict of interest -- delaying the trial due to start in just over a week, and putting off a request for a different venue the defense had planned to bring up during the day's hearing.
The defense representing Peter Lollobrigido said Thursday that another attorney in their office is representing someone who will be called as a key prosecution witness. That means those attorneys essentially have inside information they can use to cross-examine Lollobrigido.
They told the judge they thought the only solution to the ethical dilemma was for them to step aside, and to start the trial process all over again with new defense attorneys.
The judge instead told the public defenders to try and find a different defense attorney in their office -- one who does not have any prior knowledge about the witness -- to do the cross-examination.
The conundrum caused defense attorneys to drop, for now, a different request for a change of venue.
It's another concern in the trial for a high-profile murder case already questioning jury impartiality thanks to the content of local political ads.
Public defenders pointed to political ads by losing State Senate candidate Juan Pablo Segura, that called Peter Lollobrigido a killer, to paint Segura's political opponent as soft on crime. According to the defense, such ads made them worry about finding impartial jurors in Loudoun County.
Regina Redman Lollobrigido's mother also criticized that ad, saying that seeing her daughter's image used for campaign purposes was like "rubbing salt in the wound."
It's unclear exactly when the trial can be rescheduled, but it will now take place in 2024 when a new commonwealth attorney, Bob Anderson, will be leading the office. The case was one put in the spotlight to urge voters to cast ballots for him.
Defense attorneys for Peter Lollobrigido are due to report back to the judge on Dec. 12, 2023.
