rsbm.
I think you misread the article. It's the defense attorney who requested that the baby's body be held, and the prosecution who opposed it.
Myklebust has not been charged with his daughter’s killing, but might be, said his public defender, Rebecca Butler-Dines. Because of that potential, she asked that Lesley’s body be held until all the testing was completed so that the defense team could review the prosecution’s findings and then potentially pursue its own testing, she said in court Friday.
...
Prosecutor Anthony Santos, who called the defense request an “unprecedented situation,” said it was not appropriate for the medical examiner’s office to hold Lesley’s body “indefinitely” while the defense team mulled its options.
Interesting that Myklebust has a public defender. He was an associate professor, so presumably made decent money. I would have thought he would be have sufficient funds to retain private counsel. Makes one wonder if money issues played a part.