Teenager accused of killing dad will wait for new hearing

Thursday, June 8, 2000 | 10:34 a.m.

The preliminary hearing for a 15-year-old boy accused of killing his father in January was postponed this morning.

Conan Pope, whose indictment on a first-degree murder charge was dismissed last month, will have a preliminary hearing June 28 before Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis.

Pope is accused of shooting his father, Frank Pope, 62, on Jan. 6.

According to police, the elder Pope went on a tirade over dirty dishes, and moments after sending his son and daughter to their rooms, the boy came out and killed Pope.

The boy is claiming that his father was walking toward his sister's room carrying a broom in a menacing manner.

Pope's attorneys, Deputy Special Public Defender Kristina Wildeveld and Dayvid Figler, successfully fought to get his indictment thrown out after it was revealed prosecutors did not tell grand jurors that Frank Pope had once been convicted of murdering his 11-month-old daughter in 1962.

The defense attorneys also believe prosecutors had additional evidence of abuse in the Pope household, including records from Child Protective Services.

The attorneys hope the preliminary hearing will result in either no charges being filed against the teen or less serious charges being filed.

Any charge less serious than murder will allow the boy's case to be handled in the Juvenile Court system.