A hearing in the case of a Union City woman accused of murdering nursing student Michelle Le was delayed Monday because she wants to have a new lawyer appointed.
Giselle Esteban, 27, is accused of murdering Le, a 26-year-old San Mateo woman who disappeared from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Hayward in May.
Le's body was found in unincorporated area of Alameda County between Pleasanton and Sunol on Sept. 17.
Several previous court hearings for Esteban were postponed because of medical issues related to her pregnancy.
Esteban, who is being held in custody without bail, was scheduled to enter a plea Monday and have a hearing on her bid to be granted bail.
But her court-appointed lawyer, Andrea Auer, told Alameda County Superior Court Judge Gary Picetti that Esteban now wants to fire her and have another attorney appointed to represent her at the public's expense.
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Medical issues prevent Michelle Le murder suspect Giselle Esteban from appearing in court
Medical concerns related to her pregnancy prevented Giselle Esteban from coming to court today on a charge that she murdered nursing student Michelle Le. Alameda County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. J.D. Nelson said Esteban, a 27-year-old Union City woman, didn’t have to be hospitalized and isn’t having a medical emergency but a doctor decided she wasn’t well enough to be bused from the county jail in Dublin to the Hayward courthouse. Read More
Picetti scheduled a hearing on Esteban's request for Tuesday morning because no courtrooms were available Monday.
Only Esteban, Auer and a judge will be present at the hearing. Prosecutors, the media and the public will be excluded.
