In a new twist in the murder case of Susann Smith, convicted killer Alan Smith has filed a motion for new council.

“Mr. Smith believes that current counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel during trial and has no faith in their ability to represent him fairly at sentencing,” Snohomish County Court documents state.

The hearing for the motion of new counsel will be heard by Snohomish County Court Judge Michael Downes, however there is no date or time for that hearing. Alan Smith was to be sentenced on Feb. 23 but the hearing was postponed until March 5 at 2:30 p.m. in the Snohomish County Court House.

Alan Smith’s motion for new counsel comes after he was found guilty of premeditated murder in the first degree of his estranged wife Susann Smith in front of a packed courtroom on Feb. 4.

Also listed in the motion documents were the normal sentence time frames, of 240 to 320 months in duration, however the prosecutors will be requesting between 264 and 344 months in duration; between 22 and 28 years, not including the 36 months in community custody.

“In looking at the facts of this case, it is hard to imagine a more calculated, arrogant and selfish act of violence,” the documents continue. “This murder was no ‘heat of the moment’ event… [Alan’s] arrogance manifested itself in a belief that he was smarter than anyone else, and that if he planned well enough, he would get away with murder.”

The steps that Alan Smith took in timing the murder of Susann Smith and the steps taken to not leave any trace evidence are mentioned as reasons for the requested length of duration.

“Further, [Smith] used his own children as props in his story to police, holding them forth as proof he did not venture out into the night and ‘Kill the mother of his children,'” documents continue.

The court documents not only request the 344-month sentence, but that Alan Smith have no contact with the family of Susann Smith for life.