The suspect in the murder of a Covington priest and worker at his church pleaded not guilty today at his arraignment. Antonio Tyson is charged with two counts of first degree murder and obstruction of justice in the deaths of Rev. Otis Young and Ruth Prats. Their burned bodied were discovered in downtown Covington in November.
Doug Sunseri, host of All Things Legal on WWL, says the death penalty is possible.
"There's two aspects of it," explained Sunseri. "First of all, it's two counts of first degree murder, and also obstruction of justice in a life-death criminal proceeding, and in a venue like St. Tammany Parish it's very likely they'll seek the death penalty."
Rev. Young and Prats were well-known in Covington. Doug Sunseri, host of All Things Legal on WWL, says that might complicate jury selection.
"That will be somewhat of a challenge. I would anticipate that the attorneys for Mr. Tyson will ask for a change of venue."
Sunseri says the D.A. 's office will likely argue that St. Tammany is a big enough parish to select an impartial jury.
