By ERIC BARTON
Prosecutors in Lawrence today charged two men with the slaying of Anthony Vital, the rapper who was the subject of this cover story in The Pitch last June.
Major C. Edwards Jr. and Durell A. Jones face charges of first-degree murder. Vital's widow told The Pitch last summer that Edwards had picked up Vital the night he was killed.
This press release sent out by prosecutors doesn't specify why the charges came down today, and Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson wasn't immediately available for comment.
Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson called The Pitch today in reference to this. Branson said there wasn't much he could offer in the way of details in the case, because it hasn't gone to court yet. But he did say there wasn't one event recently that led to the charges, just a steady collection of evidence in the case.
Branson also explained why he couldn't be reached last night: a technical glitch shut down the DA's phone lines last night from about 4:30 to 11:30.
Posted at: March 12, 2008 2:15 PM