Death Penalty Sought In Girlfriend Slaying, Mother Assault

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WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - Prosecutors say they plan to seek the death penalty in the case of a man accused of killing his girlfriend and beating her elderly mother earlier this year in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Fifty-two-year-old Joseph Marchetti Jr. is charged with criminal homicide and aggravated assault in the Jan. 28 death of 46-year-old Antoinette Wilkinson.

Investigators allege that he beat and shot the victim in their Foster Township home and then beat her 72-year-old mother with a lead-filled club before shooting himself in the face.

Luzerne County prosecutors cited the nature of the homicide and the attack on the older woman as factors that would warrant execution if Marchetti is convicted of first-degree murder.

A public defender representing Marchetti didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Sunday.

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