DUNCAN, Okla. – Prosecutors said Tuesday they will seek the death penalty against a 20-year-old Duncan man who was bound for trial in the shooting deaths of his newspaper publisher father, his mother and his sister.
A Stephens County judge determined there was enough evidence for a trial for Alan Hruby, who was charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 9 shooting deaths of his father John Hruby, 50, his mother Joy "Tinker" Hruby, 48, and his sister, Katherine Hruby, 17.
Hruby showed no emotion as his defense attorney accepted the death penalty notification, The Oklahoman (http://bit.ly/1BgVdAc ) reported.
Prosecutors allege Hruby, then a student at the University of Oklahoma, was a shopaholic who killed his family for his inheritance after his parents cut off his finances.
A telephone message left Tuesday with Hruby's attorney, Mitch Solomon, was not immediately returned, but a gag order has been issued in the case that prohibits attorneys from discussing the case.
John Hruby was publisher of the weekly newspaper The Marlow Review.
Earlier Tuesday, Hruby wiped away tears and trembled as the family's longtime housekeeper testified during the preliminary hearing that she was in the home about 30 minutes before finding the bodies and calling police.
The housekeeper, Rose Marie Chavez, said she saw Tinker Hruby's body first. She said she touched the body and described it as "ice cold." She said she realized they were all dead when she saw blood on Katherine's face
"I was emotional and in shock," she said.
Hruby wept again when a police investigator told the judge Hruby had confessed to shooting his family.
Prosecutors contend Hruby should be punished by death because he killed for money, because he killed three people, because he is a continuing threat to society and because each murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel.
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Information from: The Oklahoman, http://www.newsok.com
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