2 indicted for capital murder

A grand jury on Tuesday indicted two men charged in the murder of a University of Virginia graduate killed in her Charlottesville home.

William Douglas Gentry, 22, was indicated on capital murder and other charges, sending his case to Circuit Court for a scheduled June trial.

Gentry's cousin, Michael Pritchett, also was indicted on capital murder and other charges in the death of 26-year-old Jayne Warren McGowan.

McGowan was killed in November during a robbery at her St. Clair Avenue home.

Coworkers discovered McGowan's body at her home Nov. 9 after she didn't report to work. The University of Virginia graduate had been working on a fundraiser for the AIDS/HIV Service Group.

City police arrested Pritchett and Gentry four days later. According to a search warrant affidavit, Pritchett confessed to police that he and Gentry killed McGowan.

The two men had decided to commit a robbery and went to McGowan's door when she was home alone, according to the search warrant.

Gentry shot McGowan shortly after she answered the door, the document says. Pritchett told authorities that he stole McGowan's computer and modem and that he also shot her before he and his cousin left the residence, the affidavit says.

Both men could face the death penalty if convicted, though prosecutors haven't said whether they will pursue that option.

Both are being held without bond at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.