A defense lawyer says 39-year-old Daniel Kelly knew about Monday's status hearing.
Kelly is charged with child endangerment for leaving daughter Danieal with her unfit mother. The 14-year-old weighed 42 pounds when she died in 2006.
Her mother is serving 20 to 40 years for third-degree murder, and several social work contractors received long prison terms for skipping home visits.
Defense lawyer Earl Kauffman fears Daniel Kelly is worried about those sentences. But Kauffman says the father's case is different because he wasn't living with Danieal and didn't abuse her.
Kelly's trial is set for June.
