FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) – An already disturbing case about a 17-year-old Muslim girl killed as she walked to her mosque took another unsettling turn after an indictment alleged the victim was raped as well.
The indictment Monday includes capital murder and rape charges and will allow prosecutors in Virginia to pursue a death-penalty case against 22-year-old Darwin Martinez-Torres of Sterling.
He’s accused in the slaying of Nabra Hassanen of Reston, whose death back in June rattled northern Virginia’s Muslim community.
While police had said previously they were investigating whether Nabra had been sexually assaulted, the indictment is the first court document to spell out any kind of sex-crime charges against Martinez-Torres.
Virginia law allows prosecutors to pursue a death penalty only under certain conditions. Those include murder in the commission of a rape.
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