FAYETTEVILLE -- Attorneys for one of five people accused of killing a woman last year are asking a judge to bar the state from seeking the death penalty, claiming that their client is mentally retarded.
Christopher Lee Treat, 30, is charged with being an accomplice to capital murder in the killing of Victoria Annabeth Davis on Aug. 19, 2015. Police said Davis, 24, of 433 S. Hill Ave., was held captive at her house for hours and beaten by her husband, John Davis, and four other defendants, including Treat.
Treat's attorneys, Drew Ledbetter and Courtney Cline, filed the motion Nov. 29 in Washington County Circuit Court.
They said testing determined that Treat has an IQ of 68, and that 98 percent of the U.S. population has a higher level of intellectual functioning. State and federal laws prohibit a death sentence for offenders who were mentally retarded at the time of committing capital murder, the lawyers said.
The other defendants are Mark Edward Chumley, 46, Rebecca Lloyd, 37, and John Christopher Davis, 28, of 433 S. Hill Ave., and Desire Treat, 30, of 315 S. Block St., Apartment 15. All are accused of being accomplices to capital murder. All are being held without bail at the Washington County jail.
In October, Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett announced his intention to seek the death penalty against Chumley. Durrett said he hasn't yet decided whether to seek the death penalty for the remaining defendants.
Accomplice to capital murder is punishable by either life in prison or the death penalty.
Metro on 12/09/2016