Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly
COLONIAL HEIGHTS (AP) A November sentencing is set for a man who pleaded guilty to killing a Colonial Heights couple in 2011, avoiding the possibility of a death penalty.
Media outlets report that 31-year-old Matthew F. Brady pleaded guilty to two first-degree murder charges during a special hearing Monday evening in Colonial Heights Circuit Court. Brady also pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery.
Under a plea agreement, capital murder charges were reduced to first-degree murder. Brady faces 20 years to life in prison on each murder count and five years to life on each robbery count.
Police say Brady robbed and killed 84-year-old Joseph Bland and his wife, 80-year-old Evelyn Bland, at the couple’s home in January 2011.
Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 19.
