COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- A prosecutor wants to keep the public from seeing the motions and other information in the file of a man charged with murder and rape in the deaths of a Richland County mother and daughter four years ago.
Prosecutor Dan Johnson would not tell The State newspaper why he wants to seal Julian Whatley's file in the death penalty case, saying the reasons will come out at a hearing on the matter.
Documents already filed show Whatley is willing to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence and that two relatives of the victims are willing to accept a plea bargain.
Investigators say Whatley raped 45-year-old Crystal Ferguson and her 9-year-old daughter, Hillary Wright, then threw gasoline in their home and burned them to death in 2007.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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