WINA newsradio reports that the Commonwealth will seek the death penalty against William Douglas Gentry, Jr. for the 2007 murder of 26-year-old Jayne Warren McGowan.
The decision was made by the prosecution today in the Charlottesville Circuit Court and is based on the nature of the offense. Gentry, 22, is considered to be a danger to himself and society.
WINA reports that Gentry’s lawyer Lloyd Snook is anticipating Gentry’s accomplice and cousin Michael Stuart Pritchett to testify against him. Snook said Pritchett was the one who fired the final shot that killed McGowan. Gentry will be tried this February and Pritchett next June.
McGowan, 26, was found dead in her Charlottesville house on November 9, 2007.
William Douglas Gentry, Jr. will be tried in February. The prosecution seeks the death penalty for the vile nature of the offense.