Former Marine Could Face Death Penalty

Accused of killing Navy petty officer

The U.S. Attorney General is planning to pursue the death penalty for Jorge Avila Torrez, 22, of Arlington, Va. 

Torrez was indicted in the murder of Amanda Jean Snell, 20.  Snell was a Navy petty officer found dead in her barracks room at Joint Base Myer- Henderson Hall in Arlington on July 13, 2009.

Torrez has been charged with first-degree murder, a death-eligible offense.  The mandatory minimum penalty is life in prison if convicted.

Acording to the indictment, Torrez killed Snell willfully and deliberately, maliciously, and with premeditation and malice. 

Torrez is currently serving time at Red Onion State Prison for charges connected to an abduction and rape of two other people in Arlington.  He was convicted of those crimes in 2010.

Torrez is also being investigated for the murders of two girls near Chicago in 2005.

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