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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A judge entered a not guilty plea Wednesday on behalf of the son of Oklahoma's labor commissioner on a first-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of his father.
Christian Costello, 26, appeared in a video arraignment before Oklahoma County Special Judge Russell Hall in connection with the fatal stabbing of his father, Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Mark Costello.
Christian Costello, dressed in an orange jail-issued jumpsuit and escorted by a sheriff's deputy, stood in front of a video camera at the Oklahoma County Jail and said nothing as Hall entered the not guilty plea and appointed the Oklahoma County Public Defender's Office to represent him. Hall set a preliminary hearing conference for Sept. 24 and ordered that Costello be held without bond.
Chief Public Defender Bob Ravitz said he has not decided whether he or other members of his staff will handle Costello's case.
"I have investigators that I will assign to the case," Ravitz said.
Costello's family said in a statement that he suffers from a mental illness and court records show that in the past Costello had spent 90 days in a mental health facility and taken mood stabilizers. But Ravitz said he does not yet know whether he will seek a mental examination of Costello.
"Obviously, we'll look at all the records and make a determination of what we need to do," Ravitz said.
Prosecutors filed the first-degree murder charge on Monday in connection with the Aug. 23 attack at a Braum's restaurant and ice cream shop in Oklahoma City where Costello allegedly pulled a knife and repeatedly stabbed his 59-year-old father. Witnesses said the attack continued after Mark Costello ran into the parking lot where his wife, Cathy Costello, tried to intervene and stop the assault.
Police say they interviewed at least 17 witnesses, all of whom said they saw Costello stabbing his father with a small knife. At least one witness knocked Christian Costello off balance with a vehicle, and others held him down until officers arrived, police have said.
The state medical examiner's office ruled last week that Mark Costello died from stab wounds to the neck and classified his death as a homicide.
Mark Costello was a successful businessman from Bartlesville who founded a telephone software company in 1984. In 2010, he ousted the incumbent Democrat with 64 percent of the vote during a Republican sweep of statewide offices and easily won re-election in 2014. He apparently was considering running for lieutenant governor in 2018.
A funeral Mass for Costello was held Saturday at the St. Monica Catholic Church in Edmond.
Since the attack, Cathy Costello and other members of her family have sought protective orders against Christian Costello and his girlfriend, Ginger R. Rogers, 48. The request alleges Rogers has harassed Cathy Costello and her family by telephoning them and "yelling, cussing and telling them they are evil, the devil and something bad was going to happen to them."
Court records indicate the protective order sought by Cathy Costello was granted on Aug. 27 but that others were denied by Special Judge Larry Shaw. The family's attorney, Stephen Jones, said the requests were denied because required paperwork was not attached to them and that he plans to file new protective order requests.
A hearing on the protective order granted to Cathy Costello is set for Sept. 10.
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