KAUFMAN, Texas – 37-year-old Charles Brownlow of Terrell, Texas, pled not guilty during a pretrial hearing at the Kaufman County courthouse earlier this morning, June 27, 2014, to four counts of capital murder and one count of burglary of a habitation with intent to commit another felony.
KAUFMAN, Texas – 37-year-old Charles Brownlow of Terrell, Texas, pled not guilty during a pretrial hearing at the Kaufman County courthouse earlier this morning, June 27, 2014, to four counts of capital murder and one count of burglary of a habitation with intent to commit another felony.
Brownlow is accused of killing five people over a span of several hours on October 28, 2013, at four different crime scenes throughout Terrell, Texas. Those individuals included his aunt, 55-year-old Belinda Young Walker, his mother, 61-year-old Mary Catherine Brownlow, 33-year-old Jason Wooden, 30-year-old Kelleye Pratt (Sluder), and 22-year-old Luis Leal.
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During the hearing, 422nd District Court Judge B. Michael Chitty ordered DNA testing of over 80 items at the Texas Department of Public Safety's crime lab – an order which didn't sit well with the defense who argued the examination by a law enforcement agency wasn't neutral.
Brownlow is receiving mental health care while in the Kaufman County jail, according to his attorney who also stated Brownlow understands the charges he is facing as well as the court proceedings.
The next pretrial hearing has been scheduled for July 16, 2014, at 8:30 a.m., according to court records. A trial date is tentatively scheduled for mid-April 2015.
If convicted, Brownlow could face up to 99 years in prison. State prosecutors have not declared if they will seek the death penalty for the capital murder charges.
