The teenage children of a man who was found dead in a freezer face possible murder charges as adults in Wake County Superior Court.
David Reuben Green III, 15, and Alexis Morgan Green, 17, initially were charged as juveniles after the body of their father, David Reuben Green Jr., was found in October. Investigators think the death might have occurred in 2009.
The teens' cases were transferred to adult court this month after a judge reviewing the juvenile petitions found probable cause of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
A Wake County grand jury is likely to review the cases in early January, when indictments could be brought in Wake County Superior Court, prosecutors said.
In North Carolina, defendants younger than 16 are usually tried in juvenile court, although some cases are transferred to the adult court system.
Alexis Green's case started in juvenile court, according to prosecutors, because she wasn't an adult when investigators think the death occurred.
David Reuben Green Jr. was found dead Oct. 6 at 8617 Ray Road. His body had been stuffed in a basement freezer.
Wendy Edmond Green, the live-in girlfriend of the deceased and mother of the teens, was charged shortly after that with murder.
She could face the death penalty in the case. But both her children were under 18 when investigators believe the killing occurred, making them too young to be tried capitally.
Few details about the case have been made public.
Green was reported missing in September. Once that month, investigators searched the home where he lived with Wendy Edmond Green.
It was not until October, though, when investigators returned to the house where the power had been turned off and discovered a foul odor and the body in the freezer.
In search warrants released this month, investigators said they suspected mother and daughter of playing "an active role in the planning and commission" of Green's death.
Investigators took blood, hair and saliva samples from at least two of the accused after hearing from people familiar with the family that David Green's girlfriend and children planned his death, then cleaned up the scene in an effort to conceal evidence.
Investigators and a family member said Green had been slain months earlier, the victim of blunt force trauma.
Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/12/...#ixzz18k9NNab4
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