Ark. teen, accused in slaying of couple who raised him, due in court

CONWAY, Ark. -- A 14-year-old Arkansas boy is due in court Tuesday to enter a plea in the double slaying of the couple who raised him.

Justin Staton is charged with capital murder in the July 21 killings of Robert and Patricia Cogdell, who were both 66 years old. He is scheduled to appear in Faulkner County Circuit Court on Tuesday.

Court documents say the Cogdells weren't Staton's biological grandparents, but that they had raised him as if they were.

The couple's bodies were found in July in a tree line behind their home, reported CBS affiliate KTHV. Police reportedly believed the two were shot -- Robert Cogdell inside the house and his wife in the garage -- then dumped in the woods.

Staton was a major person of interest following the murder, according to the station. Family and friends told KTHV that he was living with them at the time of the murder.

After the murders and Staton's arrest on July 23, a group of teens traveling to Texas in a vehicle with Arkansas tags were taken into custody under the suspicion that they were also connected to the double homicide. Following further investigation, they were not charged, according to CBS affiliate KTHV.

Prosecutors allege that Staton and 17-year-old Hunter John Drexler shot the couple and dumped their bodies in woods behind their home in Conway, 30 miles north of Little Rock. They also reportedly believe the teenagers plotted to kill the couple while they were in juvenile detention together.

They are both charged with two counts of capital murder, aggravated robbery, theft of property and abuse of a corpse, according to the station.

Staton faces up to life in prison if convicted of capital murder.