No death penalty in 'Precious Doe' killing

Body of slain girl was unidentified for nearly four years; stepfather accused

Video: Crime & courts

Search widens for missing Utah mom
Dec. 19: Authorities served a court order asking local television stations for their raw footage of Josh Powell, who police call a “person of interest,” in the disappearance of his wife, Susan. NBC’s Miguel Almaguer reports, then NBC’s Lester Holt sits down with Kiirsi Hellewell, a friend of Susan Powell.

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Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty Against Casey Anthony

3rd arrest made in Norman homicide

updated 5:00 p.m. ET Aug. 29, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Prosecutors in Kansas City, Mo., say they won't seek the death penalty against a man accused of beheading his 3-year-old stepdaughter, whose body was unidentified for nearly four years and was known only as "Precious Doe."

Prosecutors previously had said they planned to seek the death penalty for 28-year-old Harrell Johnson, of Muskogee, Okla.

Johnson is charged with first-degree murder in the 2001 death of Erica Michelle Green. Her body was found in a park in Kansas City in 2001. Her head was discovered in a trash bag nearby.

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But Jackson County prosecutor Jim Kanatzar announced Friday that he would not seek death, saying the case didn't meet necessary standards.