Death penalty stands in Moneta capital murder case
BEDFORD — The case an Indiana man indicted last month on upgraded capital murder and robbery charges from the death of 72-year-old Moneta man over the summer will likely not go to trial until late next year, attorneys said Friday.
Dalton Wayne Holbrook, 23, was arrested June 6 after investigation into the death of John Albert Menna, who was found dead two days prior in his home on the 6000 block of White House Road, according to a news release from law enforcement at the time.
Officers were searching for Menna’s car and warned that Holbrook, the suspect likely driving it, was considered armed and dangerous, the release stated.
Holbrook was found in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and initially charged with second-degree murder and grand larceny of a car.
A grand jury indicted Holbrook on charges of capital murder — punishable by a sentence of life in prison or the death penalty, if convicted — in Bedford Circuit Court on Nov. 4. His initial charges were dropped days later.
As allowed under Virginia law, he has two defense attorneys working for him as a capital defense team: Aaron Houchens and Anthony Anderson.
Holbrook appeared in court Friday for a hearing on his attorneys’ motion to declare Virginia’s death penalty unconstitutional, a legal move that typically comes into play at the appeal level and isn’t the first of its kind to be filed in a Bedford County capital murder case.
Bedford Circuit Court Judge James Updike denied the motion, citing previous rulings of the Virginia Supreme Court upholding Virginia’s death penalty laws.
Early this month, Holbrook’s attorneys secured him appointment of a mental health expert, criminal investigator and mitigation specialist, who researches a defendant’s history and presents that evidence to the court.
He previously was scheduled for a March jury trial, but Houchens said Friday trial probably wouldn’t happen until the end of the year at the earliest.
He added Holbrook’s defense team will have numerous other legal matters that will be heard in the meantime.
Bedford County Commonwealth’s Attorney Wes Nance said evidence and forensic evaluations in the case are still being processed at state labs.
Holbrook is being held at the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center without bond.
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