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Death penalty sought in Fort Wayne quadruple killing

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards will seek a death sentence for a man accused of the gruesome killings of three people and an unborn baby inside a south-side home in September.

The prosecutor’s office on Thursday filed a motion to add an application for death sentence in its case against 20-year-old Marcus D. Dansby. A judge will consider the application Friday morning at a status hearing.

As it stands, Dansby faces four counts of murder in the deaths of 37-year-old Consuela Arrington; 18-year-old Traeven Harris; 18-year-old Dajahiona Arrington and her full-term baby, and another for attempted murder related in the shooting and stabbing of 14-year-old Trinity Hairston, all of Fort Wayne.

The charges stem from an incident that unfolded around 4 a.m. Sept. 11 inside a home at 3006 Holton Ave. There, police arrive to find the victims bodies stabbed and shot, and Dansby covered in blood, leaning over the couch, crying and asking for help, according to an affidavit. On him, police found a large blood-soaked knife with a broken handle, the affidavit said.

Police said that Dansby and Dajahiona Arrington had been in a relationship, but the pair had separated after the woman became pregnant with another man’s child. A family member told investigators that Dansby had not been at the Holton Avenue home in months.

Until September, it would appear.

During an interview with police, Dansby immediately told an investigator, “I am still hearing gunshots,” and reportedly asked, “Did anyone survive?” according to the affidavit. Dansby denied the killings, and told police that he saw a man with a knife and had attempted to offer first-aid to Harris, Hairston, and Consuela Arrington. He said he had not tried to call 911 because he did not have a cell phone. When police found a cell phone on him, he said the cell phone belonged to Consuela Arrington, according to the affidavit.

Dansby had cuts on his left hand and initially told police he did know where the cuts came from. Later he remembered “his cat scratched him,” according to the affidavit.

Damion Arrington, the current caregiver for Trinity and the brother of Consuela Arrington, told NewsChannel 15 on Thursday that the family supports the decision of the prosecutor’s office to seek the death penalty.

“We want to thank the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Fort Wayne Police Department for all of their hard work on this case,” said Damion Arrington. “We want to thank our family and friends for their support during this very difficult time.”

Dansby is being held in the Allen County Jail without bond ahead of his schedule Feb. 27 jury trial. In addition to the murder charges, he also faces a sentence enhancer for using a firearm in the commission of a violent offense.

The last death penalty sought in Allen County was against Simon Rios, who was convicted of killing his wife and three daughters in December 2005 at their Fort Wayne home, along with a 10-year-old neighbor girl. The death penalty was dropped, though, after the family raised objections for religious reasons. Rios was serving five life sentences for the killings when he killed himself in his jail cell at the Pendleton Correctional Facility in October 2008.

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