James Hawkins, Jr.
September 12, 2008
Death penalty sought in dismemberment murder
State prosecutors said today they will seek the death penalty for a man who killed his girlfriend last year and forced their 12-year-old daughter to help dismember the body.
James Hawkins, 31, is accused of strangling Charlene Gaither in February in their Raleigh apartment and then reporting her missing three days later. Parts of of her body were found along U.S. 78 in DeSoto County.
He was indicted Thursday for first-degree murder, filing a false report and abuse of a corpse.
The couple’s daughter told authorities she witnessed her mother’s murder and was then forced to help dismember her body with a circular saw and dispose of the parts. She said her father threatened to kill her if she did not cooperate.
The torso was recovered, but not the head, hands or feet, officials said. Identification was made through DNA.
Dist. Atty. Gen. Bill Gibbons said his office is seeking the death penalty because Hawkins has prior violent felony convictions and because he mutilated the victim’s body after death.
“After reviewing the facts of this case,” Gibbons said, “I have never felt more strongly about giving a jury the option of imposing the death penalty in accordance with our state law.”
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/sep/12/appeals-court-rules-against-mpd-officers-who-sued-/?partner=yahoo_headlines
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