Prosecutor to seek death penalty in murder of N.C. mother
RALEIGH, N.C. -- A North Carolina prosecutor will ask a jury to sentence a man to death in a May 2013 murderif he is convicted, reports CBS affiliate WRAL.
Travion Smith was among three people charged in connection with the murder of Melissa Huggins-Jones in her Raleigh apartment. Huggins-Jones was found by her 8-year-old daughter dead in her bed, covered in blood.
Smith's co-defendant, Ronald Lee Anthony, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in September and received a life sentence.
Sarah Rene Redden, of Wake Forest, who allegedly served as the getaway driver for Smith and Anthony, has agreed to testify against Smith, WRAL reports.
Assistant District Attorney Jason Waller will ask jurors to impose the death penalty if Smith is found guilty, a rarity in Wake County that could lengthen the jury selection process.
In a preliminary hearing, Smith's lawyer Jonathan Broun, said that Redden initially accused both men of Higgins-Jones' murder, but has changed her story, pointing the finger primarily at Anthony.
"She is now saying it is Ronald Anthony, and that Ronald Anthony alone killed Ms. Huggins-Jones," Broun said. "Ronald told her he stabbed (Huggins-Jones) to death. (Smith) did not personally hit, stab or hurt Ms. Huggins-Jones. She also said she has no indication that Travion went into Ms. Huggins-Jones' bedroom or was present when (Anthony) killed her."