( CNN ) Craig Hicks , who is charged in the deaths of three Muslim college students in Chapel Hill , North Carolina , earlier this year , can face the death penalty , a judge ruled Monday , according to CNN affiliates . Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson Jr. ruled that Hicks ' case is `` death penalty qualified , '' WRAL and WTVD reported . The 46-year-old was arrested February 10 in the deaths of Yusor Mohammad , 21 , her 23-year-old husband , Deah Shaddy Barakat , and 19-year-old sister , Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha . All three were shot in the head . Hicks , who was the victims ' neighbor , turned himself in to police the night of the killings . The next week , he was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder and a count of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling . He had no prior criminal record , police said . Police said `` an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking '' might have been a factor in the shootings but also said they were n't dismissing the possibility of a hate crime . On what is believed to be Hicks ' Facebook page , numerous posts rail against religion . The victims ' family members have called on authorities to investigate the slayings as a hate crime . The U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement in February saying the department 's Civil Rights Division , along with the the U.S. Attorney 's Office for the Middle District of North Carolina and the FBI , have opened `` a parallel preliminary inquiry '' to determine whether any federal laws , including hate crime laws , were violated . `` It has always been our position that Mr. Hicks should be held responsible for his actions to the full extent of the law . His killing of three college students was despicable , and now he must face the consequences of his actions , '' said Rob Maitland , an attorney for Hicks ' wife . Karen and Craig Hicks are in the process of divorce .
CNN is charged in the deaths of three Muslim college students in Chapel Hill , North Carolina . Victims ' family members have called on authorities to investigate the slayings as a hate crime .