TROY, N.Y. – An additional first-degree murder charge has been filed against one of two men accused of killing two women and two children in an upstate New York basement apartment.
Justin Mann and James White initially were charged Saturday with first- and second-degree murder in the Dec. 21 slayings of Shanta Myers; her lover, Brandi Mells; and Myers' children, ages 5 and 11. They've pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors opted not to proceed Thursday with a preliminary hearing, which meant the defendants had the right to be released from jail without further action. Instead, authorities filed a new first-degree murder charge against White and sent Mann back to jail under a parole hold.
The bodies were found the day after Christmas in Troy, north of Albany.
Police haven't disclosed a motive.