Tucson suspect charged with murders of judge, aide

PHOENIX (AP) — The suspect in the Tucson shootings that critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was indicted today on new charges that include the murders of a federal judge and a congressional aide.

The two murder charges were added to other federal charges that 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner already faced in the Jan. 8 shooting at a political event by Giffords outside a grocery store in the southern Arizona city.

The latest indictment charged Loughner with murder in the deaths of U.S. District Judge John Roll and Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman. Loughner also faces new charges of causing death to or injuring participants at a federally provided activity.

Loughner had pleaded not guilty to earlier federal charges of trying to assassinate Giffords and kill two of her aides.

Federal prosecutors haven't yet said whether they will seek the death penalty against Loughner. But legal experts believe it's a virtual certainty.