The Dayton man convicted in the Ottawa murder-cremation still thinks he was wrongly convicted, but William Horman no longer is trying to make his case without legal help.

Horman, 59, appeared Friday in La Salle County Circuit Court in his ongoing effort to overturn his murder conviction. He was sentenced to 40 years for the 2015 killing of Robert Dowd, Horman’s former boss.

Acting as his own lawyer, Horman planned to present witnesses who’d testify he was falsely accused of bludgeoning Dowd and then incinerating his body in a rural Ottawa burn pit.

Before the witnesses could be called on Friday, however, Horman tried to muddle through some motions. At one point, Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. asked if he wanted the Public Defender’s Office assigned to the case.

Horman thought it over and said he did. Ryan then halted the proceedings. No witnesses took the stand. The judge set a status hearing for May 7, giving Horman’s incoming legal counsel a chance to get up to speed.

Horman, prosecutors had alleged, was enraged when Dowd reneged on a pledge to give Horman a stake in Dowd’s truck-washing business. At trial, accomplice Jonathan Beckman testified to seeing Horman bludgeon Dowd to death. Beckman further testified that he helped Horman incinerate the body.

Horman was convicted of murder, and that conviction has so far withstood appeals. Horman is back in court because the 3^rd District Appellate Court spotted an error in a previous round of post-trial motions.