Death Penalty to Be Sought in 3 Slayings

Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty for a Lancaster man charged with a triple slaying in Golden Valley, Ariz., and they want to try a 14-year-old Lancaster runaway as an adult in connection with the killings.

Frank Winfield Anderson, 48, was arrested last month in Illinois in connection with the slayings of 15-year-old Robert Delahunt, his mother, Leta Kagen, 37, and her boyfriend, Roland Wear, 50. Prosecutors will also seek the death penalty for a second adult charged in the case, Robert Poyson, 20, of Golden Valley.

The Antelope Valley girl charged in the case arrived in Arizona on Thursday after being extradited from Illinois, where she was arrested last month at a homeless shelter.

Prosecutor James J. Zack of the Mojave County district attorney’s office said the teenager is scheduled to appear today at a hearing in Juvenile Court, where a judge will determine whether she will stand trial on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Zack said his office may file additional charges against the girl. So far, she faces one count of murder in the killing of Robert Delahunt and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in connection with Kagen and Wear’s slayings.

A grand jury indicted Poyson and Anderson on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and armed robbery.

Poyson, who arrived in Arizona last week, pleaded not guilty to the charges in Mohave Superior Court. Meanwhile, Anderson arrived in Arizona on Tuesday and is scheduled to be arraigned today.

A relative found the victims’ bodies at their desert trailer home. Robert had been stabbed, and the other two had been shot.

Police theorize that Anderson and his 14-year-old neighbor hitchhiked to Arizona together from their Lancaster trailer park. Investigators speculate that they were dropped off at Kagen’s trailer because she and Wear were known for having a soft spot and taking in strangers.

Police said it was at the trailer that Anderson and the girl met up with Poyson, who after the slayings was arrested with the girl at a homeless shelter in Evanston, Ill. Anderson had been arrested a few days earlier in Anna, Ill.