Prosecutors believe the five men tried to rob a bank in Erwin on Aug. 20, 2004. They later sped off and were involved in an accident with another vehicle.
The suspects -- Roame Jackson, John Kelly, Gregory King, Jodie Steele and Stephen Swinton -- walked away from the accident, but Wanda and Shannon Knox did not.
"I actually saw the group that did it and I saw the cops throw them on the ground and stuff and they were trying to run away and they were OK," said Ashley Arnette, a friend of the Knoxes. "I couldn't really say they deserve to die, but they definitely deserve to be punished."
Prosecutors said the death penalty can be a hard sell. Juries do not usually sentence someone to death in car accident cases.
"Just because they used a car, the people still got killed," resident David Bellflower said.
The suspects are all charged with first-degree murder.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
