Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli says there are no aggravating circumstances required by law for capital punishment to be considered in the case against 33-year-old Mark Williams of Nazareth.
Williams is accused of strangling Patrick O'Brien after following him home June 14 from a bar where the two had been arguing. Police and witnesses have said the two had not spoken to each other much after a falling-out over a girl and unreturned video games a decade ago. Police say Williams told them he was too drunk to remember most of the night.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Williams would face mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The homicide was the first in Nazareth in almost three decades.
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Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com