FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) - A recent leadership change at the Pinal County Attorney’s Office means the state is looking for a special prosecutor to try the case of a suspect in a Maricopa double-killing.
The Casa Grande Dispatch reports (https://bit.ly/2knhGrG ) that newly elected County Attorney Kent Volkmer was representing suspect Jose Ignacio Valenzuela’s son, creating a potential conflict of interest if Volkmer tries Valenzuela’s case.
Valenzuela is facing first-degree murder charges in the deaths of 44-year-old Michael Careccia and 42-year-old Tina Careccia. The airline pilot and his accountant wife were reported missing in June 2015.
Their bodies were later discovered after authorities unearthed a 6-foot-deep grave on Valenzuela’s property in Maricopa, about 35 miles south of Phoenix.
No outside office has offered to prosecute Valenzuela’s case.
___
Information from: Casa Grande Dispatch.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.