MURRAY, Ky. (AP) — A prosecutor has filed a notice that his office intends to seek the death penalty in the case against a man indicted in a murder and arson case.
The Paducah Sun (http://bit.ly/1Oat3aE ) reports Commonwealth Attorney Mark Blankenship filed the notice Tuesday. Blankenship says the decision to seek the penalty is not set in stone, but he filed the notice to give the defense time to prepare.
The suspect, 21-year-old Pascasio Y. Pacheco, appeared with his attorney in Calloway Circuit Court Tuesday and entered a plea of not guilty.
Authorities arrested Pacheco Nov. 23 on counts including capital murder and first-degree arson. He was booked after firefighters found the bodies of a family of four after they extinguished a house fire Nov. 17.