NC man accused in 3 slayings set for trial

[October 03, 2011]  GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) -- A North Carolina man accused of killing three female acquaintances and dumping two of them in South Carolina is scheduled to go on trial for capital murder in one of the cases.

Jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday in the first of what will likely be three trials for 49-year-old Danny Hembree Jr. He could face the death penalty if he is convicted.

Hembree goes on trial first for the 2009 killing of 17-year-old Heather Catterton, whose body was found near Clover, S.C. He's also charged with killing 30-year-old Randi Dean Saldana, whose burned remains were found near Blacksburg, S.C.

Investigators say Hembree also killed Deborah Ratchford in 1992.

The other two cases will be tried separately.

[Associated Press]

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