No death-penalty notice filed in murder of girl, 11

A 'gag order' prevents the two sides from discussing the case.
FRANKLIN, Pa. (AP) -- The deadline has passed for Venango County prosecutors to file notice to seek the death penalty in the case of two men charged with kidnapping and killing an 11-year-old girl last seen walking home from a Girl Scout Halloween party 12 years ago.
Brothers Timothy and James O'Brien waived arraignment Sept. 8 on charges of first-degree murder in the death of Shauna Howe.
That was the deadline for District Attorney Marie Veon to file notice to seek the death penalty. As of Friday, no notice had been filed. A gag order prevents parties in the case from commenting.
Town reacts
Shauna's disappearance on Oct. 27, 1992, has consumed the small town of Oil City. To this day, trick-or-treating is held in daylight hours.
A search party found Shauna's semen-stained leotard two days after she vanished. On Oct. 30, 1992, her body was found near the base of a railroad trestle over a creek not far from where she was abducted.
The O'Brien brothers and Eldred Walker were arrested in July. Authorities haven't explained specifically what led a decade to pass between the killing and their arrests.
DNA evidence
Key evidence against Walker, 45, and James, 32, and Timothy O'Brien, 37, included an FBI analysis of semen found on Shauna's clothes and body. The DNA evidence links the younger O'Brien to sex acts performed on the girl, prosecutors said at an August preliminary hearing.
A state police trooper also testified at the hearing that Walker told investigators in July that he knew of a plan by the O'Brien brothers to abduct an Oil City child -- who would be released a short time later in what Walker called a "prank" to irritate Oil City police.
The O'Briens are being held for trial on charges of first- and second-degree homicide, rape, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse and kidnapping. Walker faces trial on charges of second-degree homicide and kidnapping.
Veon could still seek the death penalty if new evidence supporting it turns up.
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