Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Jury selection for a Bristol Township man accused of killing a pregnant woman, her unborn child and her 4-year-old daughter in 2013 is expected to begin Monday.
Bucks County Assistant District Attorney Matt Weintraub confirmed Friday that the jury selection will begin Monday in the case where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for 22-year-old Marcel Emanuel Johnson.
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While Weintraub will be leading the case for the prosecution, attorney’s Craig Penglase and John Fioravanti Jr. will be heading up Johnson’s defense.
Johnson is facing trial on two counts of criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, two counts of arson and a single charge of possession Officials said last year that the death penalty was pursued for the two criminal homicide counts but the law dictates that the death penalty can not be pursued for criminal homicide of an unborn child.
The prosecution will make the case that 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.
Credit: Family/Submitted
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An autopsy report Talley suffered a several stab wounds from her knees up. 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, according to testimony at Johnson’s preliminary hearing.
Police said they arrived to the Avalon Court Apartments around 3:30 p.m. on November 25, 2013 to find heavy black smoke. A short time later, firefighters in full-gear discovered the grisly scene.
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Witnesses placed Johnson at the scene and said they saw him flee 10 minutes before firefighters were dispatched.
Johnson was arrested after a traffic stop outside the Levittown Trace apartments. He was charged for drug-related crimes.
In a 2014 pre-trial hearing, County Judge Diane Gibbons ruled to allow evidence that reportedly shows Talley may have been involved in heroin distribution.
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Penglase told LevittownNow.com last year that his client maintains he is innocence
If Johnson is convicted in the murders and sentenced to death, he would join a short list of Bucks County residents on death row. Currently there are five people on death row who were judged for their crimes in Bucks County: Frank Chester (1989), Robert Diamond (2009), Robert Flor (2006), Richard Laird (1989) and Alfonso Sanchez (2008).
Credit: Tom Sofield LevittownNow.com
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There are three phases for death penalty cases that defendants go through, according to the department of corrections. The first is conviction and sentencing, which places the convict in solitary confinement for 22 hours a day. The second phase occurs when a governor signs the death warrant. The third is the inmate’s transfer to Rockview State Prison, near State College, where executions take place.
Johnson remains in Bucks County prison awaiting trial.
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Previous:
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