Prosecutors plan to pursue the death penalty in the trial of Craig Hicks , 46 . The man who shot dead three Muslim students near the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill campus last month could be executed for the crime . Craig Hicks , 46 , has been charged with first-degree murder in the February 10 shooting deaths of Deah Barakat , 23 ; his wife Yusor Abu-Salha , 21 ; and Yusor 's sister Razan Abu-Salha , 19 . Durham County District Attorney Roger Echols has expressed in court documents filed last week that the state plans to pursue capital charges in the case , which is currently being investigated as a possible hate crime by the FBI . Echols will explain his reasons for pursuing the death penalty at a hearing set for April . Prosecutors often push for the death penalty in cases where they can use execution as leverage to get the accused to agree to a plea deal , opting for a lesser sentence like life in prison for pleading guilt and avoiding trial . Hicks has reportedly already confessed to murder , though authorities still have n't revealed whether he gave a motive for his crime . His wife Karen Haggerty Hicks says he killed the three students because of an argument over parking spaces at the Finley Forest apartments where they all lived just a few miles from the Chapel Hill campus . However , others have voiced the opinion that the shooting was a hate crime based on the students ' Muslim faith . Police say they found documents on Hicks ' computer that show he kept detailed notes on the parking situation at the apartment complex . Hicks stands accused of shooting dead North Carolina students Deah Shaddy Barakat , 23 , his wife Yusor Mohammad , 21 , and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha , 19 , on February 10 . A search of Hicks ' home turned up 12 firearms including four pistols and a Bushmaster AR-15 . He also described himself as a 'gun toting ' atheist in online posts . Hicks faces three charges of first-degree murder as well as a charge of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling . The FBI is currently investigating the shooting to see if any federal laws against crimes of religious bias were broken . Hicks remains behind bars at Central Prison in Raleight , where he is reportedly being kept in isolation for 'safe-keeping ' . He is being represented by a court-appointed public defender . Deah ( right ) and Yusor Barakat ( left ) had only been married a month when they were shot dead in their apartment complex just a few minutes from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill campus .
Craig Hicks , 46 , stands accused of killing three Muslim students at an apartment complex near UNC Chapel Hill last month . In court documents filed last week , prosecutors expressed intention to seek death penalty for Hicks . Initial reports said the shooting was over parking argument . FBI is currently investigating shooting as possible hate crime .