Craig Hicks, 46, allegedly gunned down a newlywed couple and the wife’s sister on February 10 about two miles from the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill. He has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
On Monday, the Durham County District Attorney's Office said it filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty for Hicks last week, Reuters reported.
Prosecutors will present their evidence against Hicks to a judge during a hearing early next month, according to a member of the district attorney’s office.
Investigators are now working to determine whether Hicks, a paralegal student who portrayed himself on Facebook as an atheist, was motivated to kill the victims because of their religion.
Police have said their initial investigation indicated a dispute over parking may have prompted the killings, while the father of the two young women who were killed has claimed the shooting was a hate crime.
Newly released search warrants indicate Hicks' wife suggested that theory of the parking lot dispute as a possible motive, Reuters reported. The warrants also show that officers were reviewing the victims' cell phones for any evidence of confrontations or interactions they may have had with Hicks.
Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, a University of North Carolina dental student; his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21; and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, a student at North Carolina State University, were killed in the shooting.
Their families have urged authorities to investigate the case as a possible hate crime, saying Hicks had made the victims feel uncomfortable.
News of the killings drew international attention and sparked widespread use of the hashtag #MuslimLivesMatter on social media.
