A former Alabama man living near Christiansburg along Pilot Road and caught by the U.S. Marshal Service in 2018 will finally receive his day in court.
According to Lee County, Ala., authorities, prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty on two capital murder charges for Derrill “Rick” Ennis in the death of a female Auburn coed 12 years prior to his arrest. He is expected to have a jury trial that will begin on Aug. 2 after a psychological test ruled he was mentally fit to stand trial.
Ennis had been living in the New River Valley building yurts when police received a tip on his location. He has always been a person of interest in the 2006 death of Lori Ann Sleveski but had dropped off investigators’ radar after leaving the area.
Late last year, Ennis pleaded not guilty during a preliminary hearing. Prosecutors had delayed his trial because of COVID-19 restrictions.
The Virginia State Police, in cooperation with Alabama authorities, searched Ennis’s Montgomery County property for nearly two days. So far, investigators have not revealed if they found any evidence in the case.