A suburban Philadelphia man accused of killing a baby and her grandmother in a botched ransom kidnapping has fired his trial lawyer and plans to represent himself.
A Montgomery County judge approved the request made by 27-year-old defendant Raghunandan Yandamuri of Upper Merion.
Prosecutors say he kidnapped 10-month-old Saanvi Venna from her family's King of Prussia apartment in October 2012 and killed the baby's grandmother who tried to protect the child. The girl's body was found several days later.
Yandamuri is facing the death penalty if he's convicted of first-degree murder.
Prosecutors say they are ready to proceed with the trial, scheduled to begin in early September.
