Fairfax County Judge Jane Marum Roush has ruled that accused killer Charles Severance can be tried at the same time for all three murders charged against him.
Several months ago, Severance's lawyers filed a mother requesting that the 2003 murder of Nancy Dunning be tried separately. They argued that the death of the former Alexandria sheriff's wife was not part of a "common plan or scheme" with the later murders of Ron Kirby in November 2013 and Ruthanne Lodato in February 2014.
In her decision, Roush cited the prosecution's argument that all three victims were shot with .22 caliber bullets made by Remington, either "Cyclone" or "Subsonic" models. Both Kirby and Lodato were killed with the same kind of ammunition a decade later.
Prosecutors say after analyzing the bullets recovered from all three victims, firearms experts at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science would testify these three murder are only offenses in which they've seen this type of ammunition used in any crime.
The prosecution maintains that the gap between murders occurred when Severance was pulled over during a traffic stop two months after the Dunning murder and had his gun seized. He was later convicted of a felony and barred from possessing or purchasing a gun.
In 2012, he began living with a woman in Ashburn and helped her buy two, mini-revolvers and .22 caliber ammunition. In 2014, when police began investigating Severance, he left the Ashburn townhhouse.
At the same time the two revolvers also disappeared.
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The judge also pointed to the prosecution's position that a "common plan" arose from Severance's bitterness after losing a child custody battle in Alexandria. That hatred led to a desire to exact revenge against elected & court officials & later what he called the "utopian elite." Included in Severance's writings: "I've been nudging and trolling for over a decade and nobody has noticed. Violence wins. Assassinate because it is in the best interest of the child."
Prosecutors and defense attorneys return to court on Thursday to argue at least eight new motions.
They include a defense request to exclude Severance's writing from evidence at the trial & a request for a mental health expert to help their team.
Prosecutors are asking the judge to rule that jurors may be told that they will not seek the death penalty even though Severance faces two capital murder charges.
