Feds to seek death penalty in murder of sailor - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Feds to seek death penalty in murder of sailor

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Federal prosecutors say they plan to seek the death penalty for a West Virginia man if he’s found guilty of carrying out a murder-for-hire plot against a Navy officer.

David Runyon, of Morgantown, is charged with fatally shooting Ensign Cory Voss outside an automated-teller machine in April 2007. Prosecutors alleged he killed Voss at the request of the slain sailor’s wife, Catherina, for a $20,000 fee.

Catherina Voss pleaded guilty last week to five counts, including conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Under a pending agreement with prosecutors, she would be spared the death penalty and sent to prison for life.

Voss is accused of conspiring with Michael Draven to have her husband killed, partly to get a $400,000 life insurance policy the victim held through the Navy. Trials for Draven and Runyon are scheduled for March in U.S. District Court.