NORFOLK, Va. — A man has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to a murder charge facing him after the death of his grandmother.
David MacRonald pleaded not guilty on Monday to his 2nd-degree murder charge more than a year after Norfolk police arrested him for the death of his grandmother as part of a plea deal. The case is set for review in February 2025.
In June 2023, officers came to a home on Dominion Avenue near East Little Creek Road after receiving reports of an unresponsive woman. When first responders arrived, they found 84-year-old Liu-Chih Howell badly injured, according to the Norfolk Police Department (NPD).
Howell died at the scene. An autopsy by the Chief Medical Examiners Officer revealed her death was a homicide.
34-year-old MacRonald was charged with second-degree murder Wednesday. MacRonald is Howell's grandson, according to NPD.