NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A double murder trial is underway in Newport News, five years after the killings.
Amareon Eley, who is now 20 years old, is facing multiple felonies for his alleged role in the deaths of 15-year-old Erek Wright and 18-year-old Tyree Spady. Newport News Police said detectives found the two teenagers shot multiple times outside of Heritage Forest Apartments in 2019. Wright died at the scene, and investigators said Spady died hours later.
Weeks after the shooting, investigators brought in then-15-year old Amareon Eley to question him about an unrelated robbery in Newport News. However, during questioning investigators addressed the recent double homicide and Eley allegedly admitted that he was there during the shooting.
According to court documents, Eley implicated another Newport News teenager, Anthony Santiago, and told police it was Santiago who pulled the trigger. Eley allegedly told investigators that he and Santiago planned to rob the victims and steal a firearm.
The robbery ultimately turned violent, and Eley claimed he heard several gunshots and saw Wright and Spady on the ground.
However, Newport News police later charged Eley with the teens' deaths along with robbery and conspiracy to robbery.
Eley has pleaded not guilty. It's not the first time this case has gone before a jury, but a judge declared a mistrial in July after an issue was found with a juror.
The trial is expected to last three to four days.