No Bond For Columbus Capital Murder Suspects

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Bond is denied for two Columbus capital murder suspects.

Victoria Slayton and Malcolm Hill made their first court appearance Wednesday afternoon.

The duo had little to say as they walked inside the courtroom at the Columbus Municipal Complex.

They are accused of killing 34-year old Markus Pate, inside of his 11th Street South apartment.

Investigators say it appears robbery the reason behind the deadly shooting.

Columbus officers escorted 23-year old Victoria Slayton and 25-year old Malcolm Hill to see a judge.

Slayton and Hill were read their charges, their rights, and then were appointed an attorney.

Both were on parole when they were arrested.

Slayton was visibly upset during the hearing.

If convicted, both suspects face life in prison or execution.

“It doesn’t get more serious than this and that’s what I think young people need to realize, is that these decisions they’re making can have life altering consequences. Decisions that you can’t go back from,” says District Attorney Scott Colom.

“One of the things I want to give credit to helping solve this case was, we got the information out to the public, who was aware of what was going on. And they started using Crime Stoppers, and they called in with tips. Again, we had a lot of tips. Some of them are good. Some of them are bad, but again, it all played into the conclusion where we are at now, that we have two suspects in custody,” says Columbus Police Chief Fred Shelton.

Slayton and Hill’s next court appearance is set for October 25th, but it could be continued.