Teens in Camden deaths could be tried as adults

The four juveniles charged in the torture deaths of a Burlington County couple found buried in Camden should be prosecuted as adults, authorities said yesterday.

A judge must decide whether prosecutors have met the requirements to send the young defendants, who range in age from 14 to 17, to adult court. Prison sentences there can be significantly longer than those imposed in Juvenile Court, said Tim Chatten, assistant Camden County prosecutor, who filed requests to have the cases moved.

The teens would join four adult defendants arrested since Feb. 25, when authorities discovered the bodies of Michael Hawkins, 23, of Maple Shade, and his girlfriend, Muriah Ashley Huff, 18, of Cinnaminson, in a shallow grave behind a rowhouse in the 500 block of Berkley Street in South Camden.

Authorities believe the two were killed days earlier during hours of torture carried out as retaliation for gang-related violence between the Bloods and Crips.

Hawkins, authorities said, had been associated with the Crips. He was beaten repeatedly, stabbed, and shot, authorities said. His girlfriend, who was tagging along that day, was beaten and strangled.

Yesterday, a 17-year-old from Astoria, N.Y., appeared before Juvenile Court Judge Angelo DiCamillo. Defense attorney Kevin Lewis, who represents the 14-year-old Camden girl charged with murder, said he could not also represent the older teen. Another attorney was expected to be appointed by today. All eight defendants remain jailed.

Each juvenile will be brought before the judge to determine whether he or she can be prosecuted as an adult.

For the three 17-year-olds - two of whom are from Pennsauken - prosecutors have to show only that there is probable cause. The standard is higher in order to prosecute a 14-year-old as an adult. Chatten said there must be evidence that it is unlikely she could be rehabilitated by age 19.

In Juvenile Court, the maximum jail term is 20 years, and inmates can be considered for release after serving half their sentences. Prosecuted as adults, the defendants could face life sentences.

Charged in addition to the juveniles are Darryl Pierre, 19, of Merchantville; Clive Hinds, 18, of Maple Shade; and Dennis Welch, 19, and Lance Fulton, 19, both of Camden. More arrests are likely, authorities said.