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 their client is mentally retarded.
Christopher Lee Treat, 30, is charged with 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 Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court. They contend testing determined Treat has an IQ of 68 and 98 percent of the U.S. population has a higher level of intellectual functioning. They argue state and federal law prohibit a death sentence for offenders who were mentally retarded at the time of committing capital murder.
The other defendants include 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., Apt. 15. All are charged with accomplice to capital murder. All are being held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center.
Matt Durrett, prosecutor, in October announced his intent to seek the death penalty against Chumley. Durrett said he hasn't yet decided whether to seek the death penalty against the remaining defendants.
Accomplice to capital murder is punishable by either life in prison or the death penalty.
NW News on 11/30/2016