2 men to stand trial in slaying of 16-year-old

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — A judge has ordered two men to stand trial in the alleged murder and dismemberment of a suburban Philadelphia teenager last fall.

Authorities accuse 29-year-old Laquanta Chapman of Coatesville and 19-year-old Bryan Byrd of Newark, N.J., of killing 16-year-old Aaron Turner, who disappeared Oct. 30. Authorities allege that he was shot and dismembered with a chain saw, and the remains were then left along the road in trash bags for pickup.

Authorities unsuccessfully searched a Lancaster County landfill for months for the remains. But police say Turner’s DNA was found on two chain saws and a metal post in the basement and on a blood-soaked jacket that had a bullet hole.

Chapman’s attorney, Michael Noone, questioned the DNA findings at Friday’s hearing. Byrd’s court-appointed attorney, Mark Rassman, says no evidence ties his client to the murder and accuses prosecutors of sensationalizing the case.