A North Carolina man is refusing to voluntarily return to Virginia to face first-degree murder, abduction and robbery charges related to the murder 22 years ago of 85-year-old Odie Duff.
Wise County Commonwealth's Attorney Ron Elkins said Monday afternoon that his staff is working to file extradition paperwork to have Robert Lee Banks, 47, brought to Virginia to face trial. Banks is the second man charged in connection with the Nov. 18, 1986, stabbing death and robbery of the elderly Big Stone Gap man.
John Franklin Terry, 39, was charged with murder in connection with Duff's slaying in 2002 after advancements in DNA testing linked Terry to soiled toilet paper found in Duff's Wood Avenue home. Terry does not face the death penalty if convicted since he was 17 when Duff was killed.
However, Elkins said Banks, who was 26 when the elderly man was stabbed to death, could face execution if convicted.
Elkins said Banks was convicted on a manslaughter charge in Wise County in 1995.
Terry is slated for trial on April 14 but Elkins said the case will be postponed since Banks was indicted by a grand jury earlier this month. The indictment was not revealed until authorities could locate and arrest Banks, Elkins said.
"We want to try them together," Elkins said.
Read tomorrow's Bristol Herald Courier for a history of the two-decades-long case and how it has meandered through the court system over the years.
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A North Carolina man is facing first-degree murder charges related to the stabbing death and robbery of an elderly Big Stone Gap resident 22 years ago.
Robert Lee Banks, 47, was indicted by a Wise County grand jury on charges stemming from the Nov. 18, 1986, murder of Odie Duff. The 85-year-old man was found stabbed to death in his Wood Avenue home.
Banks is the second man charged in connection with Duff's death.
Police were stymied for more than a decade until a cold-case DNA hit on Big Stone Gap resident John Franklin Terry led to his arrest on murder charges. Terry is slated for trial in mid-April. Terry was a juvenile when Duff was killed.
Banks was indicted last week but the indictment was sealed until Monday morning. According to the indictment released by Wise County Commonwealth's Attorney Ron Elkins, Banks could get the death penalty if convicted of murder. He also faces an abduction charge and a theft charge as well as three counts of conspiracy related to the robbery and stabbing of Duff.
Read tomorrow's Bristol Herald Courier for details of the indictment and how it could affect Terry's upcoming trial.
Bristol Herald Courier's Kathy Still broke the story.
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