UPDATED: Huntsman, Curiel plead not guilty

UPDATE 1/27/16 3:15 PM: Tami Huntsman and Gonzalo Curiel pleaded not guilty to murder, child abuse, and torture charges in court Wednesday morning.

The case is finally moving forward after the arraignment was pushed back twice; attorneys said it was difficult to find Huntsman a lawyer.

Huntsman could face the death penalty in the case. Curiel, who is only 17, will be tried as an adult.

Huntsman and Curiel are both accused of murdering 3-year-old Delylah and 6-year-old Shaun Tara and torturing their older sister.

Huntsman’s new attorney is Kay Duffy from Santa Clara. She was recently appointed by the Monterey County Alternate Defense Office.

On Wednesday, she asked the judge for more time to review the case with the death penalty potentially at stake.

Curiel’s lawyer says his client is facing different circumstances.

“The fact that he was a minor when the crimes were alleged to have taken place, the state cannot execute him,” Attorney Jeremy Dzubay said.

Local Attorney Tom Worthington isn’t on this case, but has handled similar ones in the past, and looked for any way to reduce such serious charges.

“The law allows under certain serious offenses like this for the district attorney to direct file in adult court,” Worthington said. “That means they don’t even have to go to juvenile court and have a fitness hearing.”

It’s unclear if Curiel’s attorney has plans to pursue juvenile charges for his client,but he’s well aware of the caseload ahead of him.

“It certainly does not mean that it’s not going to require a great amount of work.”

Huntsman and Curiel’s attorneys will be back in court on February 19 to set a date for the preliminary hearing.

ORIGINAL STORY: Tami Huntsman and Gonzalo Curiel, both charged with murdering two young children, were supposed to have their charges formally read to them Wednesday morning and given a chance to enter a plea. But it’s been put off for one more week.

During Wednesday’s court appearance, the case was pushed back for a second time because Huntsman does not have an attorney. The man responsible for finding her a lawyer said it’s not going to be an easy task.

It’s been more than a month since Huntsman, 39, and Curiel, 17, were arrested and accused of murdering 3-year-old Delylah and 6-year-old Shaun Tara and abusing their 9-year-old sister. Their day in court is in limbo, despite having two court appearances in Monterey County. Finding a lawyer has been challenging.

“She is right now, technically unrepresented. I have people working for me that have talked to her over a period of time but she is not represented by counsel at this point other than we’re taking care of her, but she needs a lawyer appointed,” said Frank Dice with the Monterey County Alternate Defense Office.

Dice said there’s a conflict of interest in this case, because Huntsman and Curiel can’t be represented by the same lawyers or department. Longtime defense attorney Tom Worthington is not involved in this case, but explained why an attorney would be hesitant to take on this case.

“Because the case is so difficult, such a difficult case, the facts are so difficult to deal with, and a case like this is going to go on for years. There’s a tremendous responsibility. An attorney who takes a case like this, particularly if the district attorney asks for capital punishment, basically has to devote nearly his entire practice to the case,” Worthington said.

If an attorney isn’t found locally, another could be found in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara or San Luis Obispo Counties.

“Everybody is entitled to a good defense. in a serious case like this with all the publicity it takes, every lawyer is not competent to do a case like this, let me put it that way,” Dice said.

Huntsman and Curiel are expected back in court next Wednesday at 8:30 AM. After the arraignment, they will have a preliminary hearing where they will find out if Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo will seek the death penalty against Huntsman.