Judge: Defense lawyer can stay on Delco slaying case

Under a judge's lengthy questioning Friday, Parth Ingle, charged along with his mother in the bludgeoning and stabbing death of his father, repeatedly insisted that he didn't want to dump his lawyer.

And after a 90-minute hearing, Delaware County Court Judge Barry C. Dozer ruled that attorney John Kusturiss could stay on the case, rejecting conflict-of-interest arguments from prosecutors. The attorney's son and son-in-law are potential prosecution witnesses.

The hearing came the day after a dramatic development in the case - the arrest of Ingle's mother, Bhavnaben Ingle, 52, on charges that she, too, took part in the murder of her husband, Arunkumar Ingle.

Arunkumar Ingle, 55, a Boeing Co. engineer, died Jan. 20, 2008, at his Middletown Township home as a result of "crushing blunt-force head injuries with multiple stab wounds to the head and neck." In addition, his testicles were bruised severely.

Police said they found no sign of forced entry at the home.

While considering the motion to remove Kusturiss from the case, Dozer asked Parth Ingle whether he was aware of his mother's arrest. Ingle responded, "Yes."

The powerfully built Ingle, wearing a red-and-orange prison jumpsuit, sat impassively through the hearing and spoke so softly that Dozer requested that he talk into a microphone.

A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 29, but Kusturiss said he would seek a continuance because he would be away.

According to prosecutors, at the time of his murder, Arunkumar Ingle was having an affair with a Philadelphia woman. Investigators said he planned to fake his death in India, then return to the United States to live with his mistress. He would leave $3.6 million in life insurance for his family.

Authorities said that in 2003, after Bhavnaben Ingle suspected that her husband was having an affair, she gave her son permission to install spyware on a computer to record his passwords. Parth Ingle confirmed that his father had a mistress.

In their petition seeking Kusturiss' removal, the prosecutors held that he had a conflict because his son, Gordon, is Ingle's best friend and may be called to testify.

Kusturiss' son-in-law was the federal investigator whom Parth Ingle contacted after learning that his father was seeking a fake passport.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas F. Lawrie had questioned whether Kusturiss could "vigorously" cross-examine either his son or son-in-law.

Dozer asked Parth Ingle if he understood the questions raised by the prosecution regarding potential conflicts. "Yes, I do," he answered.

The judge asked Ingle if he wanted to consult privately with Kusturiss one last time. Said Dozer, "This is a very important decision."

Ingle said that would not be necessary.