Death Penalty Warranted in Germantown Mom, Son Slaying?

Montgomery County’s top prosecutor says he will consider whether to pursue the death penalty against a man charged with killing a Germantown mom and suspected of in the death of her son.

State’s Attorney John McCarthy said Wednesday that it was too early to tell whether the death penalty was warranted for Curtis M. Lopez, who was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his estranged wife Jane McQuain, the Associated Press reported.

In Maryland, the use of the death penalty is limited to murder cases that involve multiple deaths, biological evidence such as DNA, video taped evidence or a confession, according to state law.

Lopez was arrested in North Carolina last week and has not been transported to Maryland to face the charges, a police spokeswoman told Patch.

Police discovered what they believe were the remains of Lopez’s stepson, William McQuain, 11, near Route 121, Patch reported Tuesday. Video footage from Saturday, Oct. 1 shows Lopez and the boy at  Clarksburg Liberty Gas, 200 yards from where police found the remains, Montgomery County Police spokesman Capt. Paul Sparks told Patch on Wednesday.

Lopez and William McQuain were inside the vehicle of Jane McQuain — who police dead in their Germantown home Wednesday, Oct. 12. William McQuain's whereabouts were unknown when police found her body.

Additional footage show the William and Lopez together at self-storage unit off Wisteria Drive the morning of Oct. 1. A medical examiner’s report has not yet been released for William McQuain, a police spokeswoman told Patch on Thursday morning.