Prosecutors say Todd West deserves to be put to death if convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of seven people in two states

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A New Jersey man who is accused of killing seven people in two states over a seven-week span this summer could face the death penalty if he is convicted in Pennsylvania, prosecutors said.

Todd West, 23, is charged in Pennsylvania with homicide and robbery counts in three deaths. Lehigh County prosecutors say he fatally shot a man in Easton and a man and a woman in Allentown on 5 July.

Police have also alleged that West also killed his cousin in an apartment building in his home town of Elizabeth, New Jersey, on 18 May. He is also accused of killing three other victims in Elizabeth on 25 June. Authorities have agreed to try West in the Pennsylvania cases first.

Prosecutors, who have said the victims were chosen at random, said in court documents filed last week that West deserved to be put to death if convicted of first-degree murder. West and two co-defendants are scheduled to be formally arraigned on Tuesday.

If West is convicted of first-degree murder, however, he may not face execution. In February, Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf placed a hold on executions in a state which has executed only three prisoners since the reinstatement of the death penalty by the US supreme court in 1976.

New Jersey abolished the death penalty in 2007.

Investigators said West told them he spotted Kory Ketrow, 22, walking down an Easton street early on 5 July and directed a co-defendant to pull their SUV over, then emptied his six-shot, .38-caliber revolver at the victim.

A few minutes later, authorities allege, West opened fire on a motorist stopped at a red light – striking the vehicle but missing the occupants – and then headed to Allentown, less than 20 miles away, firing out of the SUV’s window during the ride.

Authorities allege that he shot two more people minutes after getting to Allentown. Police found Francine Ramos, 32, dead of gunshot wounds in the driver’s seat of a car. Her passenger, Trevor Davante Hall-Gray, 21, was found leaning against a nearby parked car, with gunshot wounds. He died a short time later.

Authorities said West told them he heard voices in his head and believed the devil was speaking to him.



Defense attorney Robert Sletvold, who has said he will seek a mental health evaluation of his client, said he was not surprised by the decision to seek capital punishment.

“From the beginning, this appeared to be the way the Commonwealth was going to take the case,” Sletvold told the (Easton) Express-Times.