Bucks man gets death for 2013 murder

A Bristol Township man was sentenced to death on Tuesday for killing a young girl and to life in prison for killing her pregnant mother in November 2013.

Marcel Johnson, 22, was found guilty last week of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of third-degree murder, and one count of arson for setting the woman's Levittown apartment on fire after the killings.

The jury found that Johnson killed Ebony Talley, 22; her daughter, R'Mani Rankins, 4; and Talley's unborn baby in an attempt to take over Talley's heroin-dealing business and steal $1,700 worth of the drug on Nov. 25, 2013.

Johnson also received 321/2 to 65 years in prison for killing the baby Talley was carrying and the arson. Johnson did not visibly react to the verdict as it was read.

"There's no question about it. The jury got it right," said Matt Weintraub, Bucks County's chief of prosecution, who handled the case. "He killed a whole family in there. It's a tragedy. It's one that we can never recover from."

The jury found that aggravating factors, including R'Mani's age and her status as a witness to Talley's murder, outweighed any circumstances the defense had brought forward about Johnson's difficult youth.

Johnson's attorney, John Fioravanti Jr., said that he was disappointed with the outcome but that the case had been a tough one because of R'Mani's age.

Judge Diane Gibbons addressed Johnson, saying that the terrible circumstances of his childhood did not excuse his choice to murder a 4-year-old.

"There is no greater horror is this world than when children are not protected by the law," Gibbons said.

Johnson did not testify during the three-day sentencing hearing. Fioravanti argued that Johnson's childhood - filled with neglect, rejection by his mother, institutionalization, and intermittent homelessness - did not allow him to develop to his full potential.

An automatic appeal of the case is pending.

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