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| Charles Severance indicted on murder charges | Charles Severance indicted on murder charges |
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| A man who for months has been the focus of police investigations into three high-profile slayings in Alexandria has been indicted on murder charges, prosecutors said. | A man who for months has been the focus of police investigations into three high-profile slayings in Alexandria has been indicted on murder charges, prosecutors said. |
| Charles Severance, 53, is in jail in Loudoun County awaiting trial on a gun possession charge. The Alexandria indictment contains ten charges, including two charges of capital murder and one charge of first-degree murder in the deaths of Ruthanne Lodato, Ronald Kirby and Nancy Dunning. | Charles Severance, 53, is in jail in Loudoun County awaiting trial on a gun possession charge. The Alexandria indictment contains ten charges, including two charges of capital murder and one charge of first-degree murder in the deaths of Ruthanne Lodato, Ronald Kirby and Nancy Dunning. |
| “This has been a complex and time-consuming investigation that has spanned almost 11 years,” the Alexandria police said in a statement. | “This has been a complex and time-consuming investigation that has spanned almost 11 years,” the Alexandria police said in a statement. |
| Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter does not intend to seek the death penalty, his office said in a statement. The maximum sentence Severance could face, should he be convicted on any of the murder charges, is life in prison. | Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter does not intend to seek the death penalty, his office said in a statement. The maximum sentence Severance could face, should he be convicted on any of the murder charges, is life in prison. |
| The last of the three murders occurred in February, when music teacher Ruthanne Lodato was slain in her home. A caregiver who survived that attack helped police create a sketch of the killer. | The last of the three murders occurred in February, when music teacher Ruthanne Lodato was slain in her home. A caregiver who survived that attack helped police create a sketch of the killer. |
| A tip led police to Severance, an eccentric Civil War buff and two-time long-shot Alexandria mayoral candidate who was living with a girlfriend in Loudoun. After he was contacted by police in March, he left the state, according to officials. He was arrested at a library in Wheeling, W.Va., and taken into custody on the gun charge, which stems from two .22-caliber revolvers purchased by his girlfriend. As a convicted felon, Severance is not allowed to possess firearms. | A tip led police to Severance, an eccentric Civil War buff and two-time long-shot Alexandria mayoral candidate who was living with a girlfriend in Loudoun. After he was contacted by police in March, he left the state, according to officials. He was arrested at a library in Wheeling, W.Va., and taken into custody on the gun charge, which stems from two .22-caliber revolvers purchased by his girlfriend. As a convicted felon, Severance is not allowed to possess firearms. |
| In 2005, Severance pleaded guilty to a felony gun-possession charge in Rockingham County, Va., and was placed on probation. | In 2005, Severance pleaded guilty to a felony gun-possession charge in Rockingham County, Va., and was placed on probation. |
| In a brief phone interview, Patricia Lodato, Ruthanne Lodato’s mother-in-law, said she was unaware -- until a reporter called her -- that police had charged Severance in connection with the killings. She said she knew nothing about what motivated the killings or what evidence investigators had to connect Severance to any of them, but she was pleased nonetheless. | |
| “I think it’s great that they’ve finally done something about it,” she said. | |
| Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report. | |
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