Prosecutor: Death penalty an option in McGowan killing

A man charged with capital murder in the death of a young Charlottesville woman last year could face the death penalty if convicted, a prosecutor said today.

Claude V. Worrell II, the city’s deputy commonwealth’s attorney, said in court this morning that his office would offer the jury the option of death for William Douglas Gentry. The prosecutor, Gentry and his attorneys were in court to start hearing motions filed by the defense counsel.

Gentry, 22, and his cousin, Michael Pritchett, 19, were charged last year with capital murder in connection with the death of 26-year-old Jayne Warren McGowan. Co-workers found her body Nov. 9 in her St. Clair Avenue home after she didn’t show up for work.

Defense attorney Lloyd Snook said in court that jurors would have to decide what was running through the minds of the cousins around the time of the incident.

“There is no question that Mr. Pritchett and Mr. Gentry were involved,” Snook said. “It’s just a question of mental state.”

Pritchett is scheduled for a five-day trial starting June 8. Gentry’s six-day trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 23.

Gentry and Pritchett are being held without bond at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

Look for full coverage of today’s hearing in Tuesday’s Daily Progress.