Death Penalty Sought in Serial Killer Case
TACOMA, Wash. — The prosecution said Friday it will seek the death penalty for a convicted serial killer when he goes on trial for the murder of two women in western Washington.
Robert L. Yates Jr. pleaded guilty in October to 13 murders dating to 1975 in other parts of the state, in a deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty by agreeing to life in prison without parole.
Pierce County Prosecutor Gerald A. Horne said that Yates, 48, does not merit leniency in the killings of Melinda L. Mercer, 24, in 1997 and Connie Ellis, 35, in 1998. Yates has pleaded not guilty.
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