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OC Man Accused Of Killing Ex-Wife To Defend Self

COSTA MESA (AP) — A 36-year-old Orange County man charged with fatally shooting his ex-wife and her father will defend himself if the case goes to trial.

At a court appearance Friday, Robert Lehmann told Orange County Superior Court Judge Derek G. Johnson he was refusing legal counsel. The Los Angeles Times reports the judge agreed to the request and set a preliminary hearing date for July 15.

At Lehmann's arraignment in May, prosecutors described a gruesome scene of an execution-style murder. Emily Ford and her father, Russell Ford, were gunned down when they went to Lehmann's home to take court-ordered custody of the woman's 6-year-old daughter with Lehmann. The girl, who was the former couple's only child, was not there.

Ford was granted full custody of their daughter earlier that day after a child-custody hearing.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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