ROSEVILLE, Calif. — A Roseville man facing charges for allegedly killing four relatives appeared in court Wednesday afternoon.
Shankar Hangud, 53, was escorted into the Placer County Superior Court to face a judge for the first time since being accused of a quadruple murder.
Placer County prosecutors say in a complaint filed Wednesday that Hangud killed two relatives Oct. 7 and a third one the next day in Roseville.
They say the fourth killing happened Sunday in Siskiyou County, where Hangud drove Monday to the Mount Shasta police station with the body of an adult man in his car. Prosecutors say he confessed to the killings and was arrested.
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About 260 miles south of Mount Shasta, Roseville police found the bodies of two children and an adult in the apartment of the data specialist.
Hangud sat behind a glass wall as the judge asked him to confirm his name. The Roseville man looked disheveled, pensive but aware of what was going on. He replied calmly when asked questions.
Hangud refused a court-appointed attorney more than once. The public defender’s office spoke to him privately before Hangud agreed to a public defender.
During the hearing, the prosecutor’s office said they had not decided on whether to seek the death penalty.
Outside the courthouse, public defender Martin Jones classified this as a capital case.
"It’s a capital case which means he could be receiving the death penalty. I know there is a moratorium now, but that doesn’t mean there will not be a change in the future," said Jones, who's representing Hangud. "If it changes back to where the state of California is executing prisoners, he could possibly be facing the death penalty.”
The Placer County District Attorney's Office said Hangud's arraignment will be Oct. 25.
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