John DeBlase intends to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, attorney says

Published: Saturday, December 11, 2010, 5:00 AM

MOBILE, Alabama -- John DeBlase -- the man accused of killing his son and daughter and dumping their lifeless bodies in wooded areas in Alabama and Mississippi -- intends to plead not guilty by reason of insanity or mental disease, an attorney told a Mobile County District Court judge Friday morning.

DeBlase, 27, is charged with two counts of murder, aggravated abuse of a child and abuse of a corpse. Authorities have accused him of killing Natalie DeBlase, 4, and her brother, Jonathan “Chase” DeBlase, 3. The father has led authorities to areas just north of Vancleave, Miss., and in Citronelle, where he said he dumped their bodies.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office found Chase’s remains off Miss. 57 on Wednesday. Authorities will resume their search Saturday in the Citronelle area for Natalie.

The search, said Mobile police spokesman Officer Christopher Levy, will be conducted by multiple agencies, using 14 cadaver dogs and 90 people.

Friday morning, attorney John Thompson, who was standing in for DeBlase’s lawyer Don Sears, told Judge Charles McKnight that DeBlase will plead not guilty by reason of insanity or mental disease at his next court appearance on Jan. 4.

“We just want to state that for the record,” Thompson said.

McKnight set DeBlase’s bond for the murder charges at $500,000. McKnight also granted a request from prosecutors that DeBlase be forced to pay $50,000 per charge in cash in order to be released from jail.

The children’s stepmother, Heather Leavell-Keaton, has been charged with lesser child abuse charges. She was arrested in Louisville, Ky., after the children were reported missing.

Levy said Leavell-Keaton is expected to be extradited to Mobile on Sunday, and will be booked into Mobile County Metro Jail.

(Staff Reporter Roy Hoffman contributed to this report.)

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