Prosecutor Wants Death Penalty for Ludwig

LANCASTER, Pa. – A prosecutor said Friday he will seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing the parents of his 14-year-old girlfriend, and no criminal charges will be brought against the girl.

Lancaster County District Attorney Don Totaro said statements from the suspect, David Ludwig, have exonerated his girlfriend, Kara Beth Borden, and convinced investigators that she did not have any role in planning or carrying out the shooting deaths of her parents in November.

"There was no plan or no agreement to harm her parents in any way," Totaro said.

New charges involving a firearms violation and sexual assault also have been added against Ludwig, Totaro said.

Also Friday, prosecutors dropped the kidnapping charge against Ludwig, who fled the state with Kara before being captured in Indiana. He still also faces one count of reckless endangerment.

Ludwig said only that he had no questions Friday morning as he signed a court document waiving his preliminary hearing, meaning the charges against him were forwarded to county court.

Totaro said the death penalty is justified because the killing occurred while perpetrating a felony, the firearms charge; that it created a great risk of harm to the couple's children, who were at home at the time; and that more than one person was killed.

Prosecutors said Ludwig killed Michael and Cathryn Borden on Nov. 14 after an argument over his relationship with their daughter. He was captured the next day following a high-speed chase that ended with him crashing his parents' car.