Garrison persuaded Ditto not to fire defense attorney Robert Gershman, saying that although he understood Ditto thought he had not been fairly represented in the past, it was in his best interest to have legal counsel in this case.

Ditto agreed to allow Gershman to remain on his case. His co-defendant, Vincent J. Puglisi, 54, of Oakland Park, waived his appearance in court Thursday for the pretrial conference.

Police say Ditto and Puglisi met Shalleck through a gay sex network. They are accused of robbing jewelry and money from Shalleck, whose body was found covered under garbage bags near the driveway of his home. In the 1980s, Shalleck wrote and directed more than 100 Curious George episodes, some of which were adapted into books he collaborated on with Curious George co-creator Margret Rey.

Gershman said he has not decided whether he is going to pursue an insanity defense. Ditto gave "severely damaging" testimony to investigators when he was questioned, at some points taking responsibility for the crime and pointing the finger at Puglisi at other times, Gershman said.

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