Heavy Security for Hearing of Suspect in Killing of Pregnant Mother & Daughter

The courtroom gallery was packed and around a dozen lawmen secured the Bath Road courthouse of Judge Joanne Kline Tuesday afternoon for the preliminary hearing of triple murder suspect Marcel Johnson.

Johnson, 21, of Bristol Township, had two counts of criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, two counts of arson and a single charge of possessing an instrument of crime forwarded to trial following his roughly hour-long hearing.

Police say Johnson killed five-months pregnant Ebony Talley, 22, and her daughter, R’mani Rankins, 4, on November 25. Their bodies were discovered by first responders after Johnson set fire to the apartment where it is alleged he stabbed them.

The death penalty could be in play for the case. Assistant District Attorney Matt Weintraub said his office will have decide whether to seek the death penalty by Johnson’s formal arraignment in Doylestown on April 4.

Bristol Township police officer Joe Dragon was first to testify. He spoke of arriving to the Avalon Court Apartments around 3:30 p.m. to find heavy black smoke. A short time later, firefighters in full-gear discovered the grisly scene.

A jailhouse source, who worked in the Bucks County prison’s suicide watch section, testified Johnson spilled his guts and admitted to the murders in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. At that time, Johnson was in jail on drug charges and investigators were building the triple murder case against him.

The source testified the confession came after he checked on Johnson and offered him a Jolly Rancher candy.

The source, who has a long criminal record in Bucks County, New Jersey and York dating back to the 1980s, told the court Johnson said, “she made me kill her.” The source also claimed Johnson then said he was talking about Talley.

“He didn’t say what caused him to do it, but he said he killed the baby,” the jailhouse source said.

Craig Penglase, Johnson’s defense attorney, called the jailhouse source’s testimony into question. Despite the source’s statements the district attorney’s office did not offer him a deal or give him any special treatment, Penglase tried to determine the man’s motivations while on the stand.

“I came because I felt sorry for what he did to that woman,” the jailhouse source said.

The jailhouse source said he gets out of prison next week in Bucks County and  has little to gain from the confession. The man next faces charges in Mercer County, N.J.

Bristol Township Detective Tim Fuhrmann was next to the stand and read summary of the autopsy reports for all three victims. During the detective’s testimony about the way Rankins was killed, quiet sobs pitched through the courtroom as the coroner’s report was read into evidence.

The 22-year-old suffered a several stab wounds from her knees up. Fuhrmann read how Talley’s womb carrying a young boy was punctured and the baby died from his mother’s injuries. The little girl died from a large stab wound on her upper chest and suffered third-degree burns on her stomach.

Johnson in his orange jail garb sat shackled in the far left in the courtroom with his defense team looking straight ahead throughout witness testimony.

Prosecutors spoke privately with the family of the victims immediately following the hearing.

With two K-9 units,  a slew of Bristol Township officers, constables and a metal detector inside, safety for all attending the hearing today was the direct message before and after the proceedings at the courthouse as testimony was given.

Johnson was ushered out of the courthouse and driven away to county jail by a motorcade at least three law enforcement vehicles. Traffic on Bath Road was even shutdown for a short period of time as the vehicles left the courthouse.

Bristol Township police Lt. Terry Hughes said the heavy security was for the protection of everyone. He added that no direct threats were made against anyone at the hearing.

Weintraub said outside court he felt the hearing went “smoothly” and the prosecution has several people already lined up to testify during trial.

Johnson remains in Bucks County jail, secluded from the rest of the inmate population.

Editors Note  The jailhouse source was not identified in the story in order to protect his safety. The request was made to the media by the District Attorney’s Office. 

Previous:

• Marcel Johnson: Dead Man Walking?
• Man Charged for ‘Brutal’ Murders of Pregnant Mother, Daughter
• Vigil Held for Murdered Pregnant Mother, Daughter
• Father Starts Memorial Fund & Foundation for Murdered Daughter in Time of Grief
• Mother, Daughter Killed in Bristol Twp.
• Search Warrant: ‘Person of Interest’ in Double Murder, Arson Case at Scene Minutes Before Fire
• PHOTOS: Double Murder Investigation in Bristol Twp.
• Vigil Held for Murdered Pregnant Mother, Daughter
• Investigation Into Murder of Pregnant Mother, Young Daughter Continuing
• ‘Person of Interest’ in Killings Arrested for Drugs, Cops Say