Jury to hear home invasion testimony next week
Published 11:33 pm Wednesday, March 6, 2013
A jury was selected Wednesday for the trial of two suspects in a violent home invasion that happened a year ago this week.
Parish Bean and Deanna McLeod are scheduled to appear in court for the first day of their trial on Monday.
Both suspects were 20 at the time of the crime and both have entered pleas of not guilty. Bean and McLeod are charged with one count of first-degree burglary, two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of attempted murder and one count of murder.
Police believe the pair were accomplices of Thomas White who kicked in the front door of a Troy couple’s home on March 5, 2012 while they slept.
According to testimony by the homeowners, White was carrying a shotgun and demanded jewelry, cash and car keys from them, among other items. He assaulted the couple and they fought back, according to their previous testimony.
The struggle left the couple with stab wounds and knife injuries that required surgery. White, 21, later died from his injuries at the hospital.
Police testified in a preliminary hearing that both Bean and McLeod told officers they knew White had a gun and was going to rob someone. The suspects also told officers they drove White to an intersection near the crime and waited to pick him up, according to police testimony.
Bean and McLeod have been held in the Pike County Jail since their arrest, just days after the crime.
As part of Alabama’s Criminal Code, Bean and McLeod are held liable in White’s death. Alabama’s Self-Defense Law states the couple White attacked cannot be held accountable for his death.