Trial preparation continues for man accused of murdering Covington priest, woman
Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
COVINGTON, La. (WGNO) — Defense attorneys for the man accused of murdering a retired Covington priest and his caretaker in 2022 are awaiting the results of DNA testing.
The defendant, Antonio Tyson, appeared in court Thursday for a discovery status hearing.
Prosecutors revealed DNA testing is complete, and now they’re just waiting on the lab to complete its technical review of the testing.
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Another discovery status hearing has been set for Jan. 22, which is when the evidence should be turned over for the defense to conduct their own analysis in preparation of the trial.
“What we want to make sure is that any testing that’s done is done properly, so that the results are reliable. I think the things that they’re talking about are safeguards that are in place to make sure that the tests are reliable and that the results are reliable,” Tyson’s defense attorney Kerry Cuccia said. “So, while everyone wants to see things move along in an orderly fashion, they can only go as fast as it’s necessary to make sure that things are done properly.”
Tyson has pled not guilty to the first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Father Otis Young and Ruth Prats.
The St. Tammany Parish district attorney is pursuing the death penalty.
A trial date has not yet been set.
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