Sergio Correa's court-appointed attorneys were released from his triple murder case Friday without having to divulge in New London Superior Court the source of the conflict that prompted their request to withdraw.

Sergio Correa, 27, and his adopted sister, Ruth Correa, 24, are charged with killing Janet, Kenneth and Matthew Lindquist and setting fire to their Griswold home during a crime spree in December 2017. Neither can afford an attorney and are represented by court-appointed lawyers.

Sergio Correa appeared in court Friday as his legal representation was discussed on the record. Judge Hillary B. Strackbein asked him if he understands the latest developments and he responded, "I'm not a lawyer, but I get it the best I could." He also apologized to the judge for smiling in court, saying he does it because he is overwhelmed, has done it since he was a little kid and doesn't mean any disrespect.

Several members of his family attended the court appearance and met afterward with Sergio Correa's new attorneys, Joseph Lopez, Jessica Luu-Missios and Maureen Murphy from the Division of Public Defenders.

Sergio Correa's initial attorneys Brian S. Carlow and Michael W. Brown of the Pieszak-Miller & Brodeur law firm, are private lawyers who contract with the state to represent indigent defendants. The attorneys were still gathering and testing evidence in the complex case  and engaging in pretrial discussions with the prosecution when Carlow notified the Division of Public Defenders recently that he had a conflict of interest.

Carlow told Judge Strackbein that he couldn't go into detail about the conflict, but said he was acting in accordance with the Connecticut Practice Book's rules of professional conduct for attorneys. The practice book indicates an attorney would have a conflict if representing one client would be directly adverse to another client, or there is significant risk that his representation would be limited by the lawyer's responsibility to another client, a former client, a third person or by a personal interest of the lawyer.

State's Attorney Michael L. Regan, who is prosecuting the case with Senior State's Attorney Stephen M. Carney, said he accepted Carlow's explanation that he has a conflict of interest. Regan said, however, that the appointment of attorneys who work for the Division of Public Defenders to Sergio Correa's case could represent a conflict of interest or become the subject of an appeal at a later date, since Ruth Correa also is represented by public defenders. Ruth Correa provided a confession in the case and may be called on to testify against her brother.

Lopez, who works out of the Rocky Hill office, cited case law that allows members of the Division of Public Defenders to represent co-defendants. He said he and the other two attorneys representing Sergio Correa would "wall ourselves off as best we could" from Ruth Correa's attorneys, Kevin C. Barrs and M. Fred DeCaprio. Barrs and DeCaprio work out of the New London courthouse.

"At this point, the law allows it, and we'll just go from here," Regan said.

Lopez said he has met twice with Sergio Correa at the Northern Correctional Institution and spoken with Sergio Correa and his family by phone.

The defense will begin going over the DVDs and casebooks of evidence the state has provided and eventually will notify the court whether Sergio Correa wants a probable cause hearing. He has continued to waive the 60-day time limit for the hearing at each of the 10 court appearances he has made following his arraignment in June 2018.

His next court date is March 15.

k.florin@theday.com