Longo's Elder and Elderette parents are playing the "politically correct" JW organizational role in their public statement re the Prosecuter's decision to seek the Death Penalty.
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Prosecutor to seek death penalty for Longo
NEWPORT, Oregon (Reuters) -- An Oregon prosecutor said Wednesday she will seek the death penalty if a man charged with killing his wife and three young children is convicted.
Christian Longo, 28, was indicted on aggravated murder charges, appearing before Circuit Court Judge Robert Huckleberry via closed-circuit television from the Lincoln County jail in a 10-minute proceeding.
Held on $2.5 million bail, Longo showed no emotion when Chief Deputy District Attorney Paulette Sanders announced the decision to seek the death penalty.
Several people in the packed courtroom applauded the decision.
The bodies of two of Longo's children were found in an inlet off the Pacific Ocean near Waldport, Oregon, shortly before Christmas, and his wife and third child were discovered in Newport waters a few days later.
He was put on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list and arrested January 13 after a tip from a Canadian tourist who saw him in Cancun on December 27.
Longo appeared on his 28th birthday in the courthouse less than a mile from where the bodies of his wife and youngest child were found.
The judge set a pretrial hearing for March 6. Longo was expected to enter a plea to the charges at that time.
District Attorney Bernice Barnett did not elaborate on the evidence against Longo but said the decision to seek the death penalty was based on "mitigating circumstances" in the crimes.
In a statement released to KGW-TV in Portland, Longo's parents, Joe and Joy Longo of Indianapolis, said, "Our concern right now is not what punishment Chris will face if he is found guilty, but if he is guilty, and what is in his heart now."
"We still don't know how to feel, or what to think. We hope that the months and years to come will help us to understand, to cope, and to heal," they added.
"We will not participate in any arguments or debates over capital punishment. It is our belief that it is the right, and responsibility, of the authorities to decide whether or not to impose such a penalty."
No family members were present at the hearing.
Lincoln County, located along the ocean about 150 miles southwest of Portland, has not prosecuted an aggravated murder case in 15 years.
Longo waived extradition after his capture in Mexico and made no attempt to prevent authorities from bringing him back to Oregon.
Longo moved to the Oregon coast about four months ago with his wife MaryJane, 34, and their three children, Zachary, 4, Sadie Ann, 3, and Madison, 2.
He owned a construction cleaning business in Ypsilanti, Michigan, before the move and was named in six lawsuits seeking more than $30,000 there. He is also wanted on two warrants in Michigan for a probation violation and a larceny charge.
. http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/01/24/crime.longo.reut/index.html