A man charged with three homicides spanning more than 10 years in Alexandria was booked into the city’s detention facility Monday in anticipation of his first court appearance in connection with the case Tuesday.
Charles Severance was taken into custody in March on an unrelated weapons charge, but prosecutors announced last week that they would be charging him with three counts of murder, including the 2003 fatal shooting of the wife of the city’s then sheriff.
Mr. Severance, 53, was booked into the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center Monday afternoon after being transferred from Loudoun County, where he had been held on the gun charge. That charged was dropped Monday.
Prosecutors in Alexandria said Mr. Severance is due in the Alexandria General District Court Tuesday morning for a video hearing on the three murder charges.
Prosecutors have charged Mr. Severance in connection with three fatal shootings — the 2003 killing of Nancy Dunning, wife of then-sheriff James Dunning; the November killing of transportation planner Ronald Kirby and the Feb. 6 killing of music teacher Ruthanne Lodato.
Police said previously that they saw similarities in the homicides — all of the victims were shot in their own homes, located within miles of each other. While officials deemed Mr. Severance a person of interest in March, when he was arrested in West Virginia on an open warrant for the outstanding weapons charge, they have said little about what evidence they have linking him to the three killings. At a press conference last week, Alexandria Police Chief Earl Cook said police have not located the murder weapon used in the killings.
SEE ALSO: Police charge Charles Severance in 3 Alexandria homicides
Mr. Severance previously lived in Alexandria, running fringe campaigns for mayor in 1996 and in 2000. His odd behavior at campaign forums and other events caused several public officials to take notice, but it was not until Alexandria police said they conducted a routine analysis of crime tips from the most recent homicides that they began investigating him as a suspect in the cases.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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