A man who admitted to decapitating and dismembering his special-needs son has been assigned a lawyer.

Jeremiah Wright will be represented by Kerry Cuccia, a New Orleans, Louisiana lawyer who has experience in death-penalty cases, the Associated Press reported.

Cuccia said his appointment does not mean prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Wright.

Wright confessed to killing his 7-year-old son, Jori Lirette, to police.

Police said Wright told them he was tired of caring for Jori, who had cerebral palsy and was confined to a wheelchair. Jori also had limited speech and used a feeding tube.

Wright decapitated Jori and then dismembered the body. He left the boy's remains by the sidewalk outside of their house. A passing driver saw the head and called police.

Thibodaux Police Chief Scott Silverii said that autopsy results indicated the boy had also been bludgeoned, the Associated Press reported.

A forensics expert told WDSU New Orleans that the way Wright left the boy's head on display by the sidewalk may have been meant to send a message.

Investigators are assessing Wright's mental health and looking into his military records, WDSU reported.

Wright had a rocky relationship with his son's mother, Jesslyn Lirette, according to friends and family members. They lived together and had been dating for ten years. Lirette was not home when the murder occurred.

"He was my star," Lirette said of her son, WDSU reported. "No matter what people think or say. He was always top priority in my life."

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