The man charged with killing three Muslim students in 2015 will not face the death penalty, according to The News & Observer.
Craig Hicks is charged with three counts of first degree murder in the fatal shooting of Deah Barakat, 23, Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, and Razan Abu-Salha, 19, at their Chapel Hill condo on Feb. 10, 2015.
Durham District Attorney Satana DeBerry said in a statement on Thursday that she plans to proceed with a noncapital case to speed up the process, meaning Hicks will receive life in prison if convicted. Hicks will go to trial this summer, The News & Observer reported.
Deah Barakat was a second-year student in the UNC School of Dentistry. Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, his wife, was planning to begin her dental studies at UNC in the fall. Her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, was a student at N.C. State University.
