Defendant in Fairmount Park attack now charged with capital murder

The Wichita man accused of raping, beating and setting a woman on fire in Fairmount Park earlier this month is now facing an amended charge of capital murder.

Cornell McNeal, 26, appeared in Sedgwick County District Court on Wednesday morning to hear the amended charge.

Letitia “Tish” Davis died Saturday, a day after McNeal was formally charged with attempted capital murder, rape and arson in the Nov. 14 attack at the park, just south of the Wichita State University campus.

Davis, 36, suffered burns on more than half of her body and cuts on her head.

Judge Joe Kisner told McNeal that his bond is being raised from $750,000 to $1.25 million.

McNeal said little at the brief appearance and showed no emotion as he stood with his public defenders. McNeal wore an orange jail jumpsuit and was in wrist and leg shackles.

District Attorney Marc Bennett, who will be on the team of prosecutors handling the charges against McNeal, said it is too early to say whether he will seek the death penalty against McNeal.

With the charge amended from attempted capital murder to capital murder, McNeal, if convicted, would face the death penalty or life in prison without parole, Bennett said.

Although McNeal technically faces a preliminary hearing on Dec. 9 under the automatic scheduling process, it will be several months before the hearing occurs, Bennett said. A preliminary hearing is where prosecutors have to show enough evidence to convince a judge that the case should go to trial.

Bennett said it could be two years before the case is resolved.

The park attack is one of four pending capital murder cases Bennett’s office is prosecuting.

What qualifies the park attack as a capital murder case is that it is a murder committed during the course of a sexual assault, Bennett said.

With the amended charge, court documents show, McNeal now faces four counts: capital murder, murder in the first degree as an alternative, rape and arson. The arson charge involves a detached garage in the 1600 block of North Erie set on fire on Nov. 14.

This story was originally published November 26, 2014 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Defendant in Fairmount Park attack now charged with capital murder."