Signe McGowan cries when she sees a Virginia license plate and her heart races when she hears a knock at the door.

A Charlottesville man who admitted that he shot and robbed a University of Virginia graduate will spend life in prison.

Michael Stuart Pritchett, 19, was indicted last year on a charge of capital murder and other counts in connection with McGowan’s death.

After a long day at work Nov. 8, 2007, Jayne Warren McGowan was settled for the night.

Circuit Court Judge Edward L. Hogshire accepted a plea agreement this morning on Gentry’s behalf, under which Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Claude Worrell said he wouldn’t request the death penalty at sentencing.

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 Monday.

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.

Two cousins charged with capital murder in connection with the in-home slaying of a young woman late last year are scheduled for jury trials in Charlottesville Circuit Court in 2009.

William Douglas Gentry, 22, is scheduled for a six-day trial starting Feb. 23. Michael Pritchett, 19, has a trial scheduled for June 8. Gentry’s trial date, which was rescheduled Monday morning in circuit court, was originally scheduled for next week.

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

A man charged with capital murder in the death of a Charlottesville woman fatally shot in her home waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday.

4:30 p.m. The charges against William Douglas Gentry, 22, will now go to a grand jury Tuesday. If he is indicted, the case will then go to Circuit Court for a possible trial.

1:00 p.m. Michael Stuart Pritchett, 18, and his 22-year-old cousin, William Douglas Gentry, are accused of killing Jayne Warren McGowan during a robbery at her St. Clair Avenue home.

From personal tragedies to team triumphs,here’s a look at the stories that impacted Central Virginians the most this year

One of two men accused of murdering 26-year-old Jayne Warren McGowan confessed to shooting her, according to a police search warrant affidavit filed in Albemarle County Circuit Court.