Man pleads not guilty to killing twin, sister-in-law

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A Wichita man has pleaded not guilty to killing his twin brother and his sister-in-law.

Luis Alvarado-Meraz is charged with capital murder in the January deaths of 24-year-old Manuel Alvarado-Meraz and 22-year-old Lucero Rodriguez. He is charged with two alternative counts of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Luis Alvarado-Meraz fired 21 shots at the couple at an apartment the three of them shared in south Wichita.

A trial was scheduled for Oct. 13.

The Wichita Eagle reports (https://bit.ly/1MAcXu4 ) Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett plans to seek a separate sentencing hearing if Alvarado-Meraz is convicted of capital murder. That preserves prosecutors’ ability to ask for the death penalty.

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Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, https://www.kansas.com