Connecticut man could be charged with murdering parents -prosecutor
By Richard Weizel
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Reuters) - A Connecticut man who is in jail following the August disappearance of his parents could be charged with murder after the discovery of two bodies near a vacant house not far from where they lived, a federal prosecutor said on Friday.
Kyle Navin, 27, who was arrested last month on a gun charge as police searched for his parents, appeared in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport to ask a judge to release him on bail ahead of trial.
Noting that two bodies had been discovered by a homeowner in Westport just the day before, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Dayton said Navin is now considered a suspect in the disappearance of Jeffrey and Jeanette Navin. Prosecutors had previously described him as a "person of interest."
The discovery of the bodies, Dayton said, raises "the strong possibility he could be charged with murder."
Defense attorney Eugene Riccio did not directly address the possibility of a murder charge during court proceedings but argued that the one charge Navin does face - possessing a firearm while using illegal drugs - did not justify keeping him in custody.
Riccio declined to answer questions on his way out of court.
U.S. Magistrate Judge William Garfinkel declared Navin would be kept in custody ahead of trial on the weapons charge, to which Navin has pleaded not guilty. That trial is currently scheduled to begin in February.
The charges came after a police search of Navin's home that allegedly turned up guns and narcotics.
Prosecutors have released a series of text messages between Navin and his father on the day the couple was last seen. In them, the father asked Navin if he had harmed his mother.
The missing couple's 2003 Dodge pickup had a bullet hole and traces of blood in it when found on Aug. 9 near a waste disposal business owned by Jeffrey Navin, prosecutors said.
Police said the couple had more than $2.2 million in debt at the time they vanished.
(Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Bill Trott)
