Autopsy: Slain Chapel Hill students were shot in the head

Three Muslim college students who were slain in their Chapel Hill condominium in February died from gunshot wounds to the head, according to autopsy results released Tuesday.

Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, of 270 Summerwalk Circle, Chapel Hill, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.

Police have said an ongoing dispute over parking appears to be a motive for the crime, but local and federal investigators have not ruled out other possible motives, including religious bias. The victims were Muslim, and Hicks is an atheist.

The autopsy shows that Yusor Abu-Salha was shot in the top of the head and the hip, while her sister was shot in the left side of the head. Barakat suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head, chest and upper extremities.