Montgomery County prosecutors say a Germantown woman’s estranged husband killed her in her sleep and beat her 11-year-old son to death with a baseball bat.
New details about the killings were disclosed at a Thursday bond hearing for 45-year-old Curtis M. Lopez, who is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of 51-year-old Jane McQuain and it’s expected he’ll be charged in the killing of William McQuain, Lopez’s stepson.
Montgomery County District Court Judge Barry Hamilton ordered that Lopez remain in custody without bond.
Lopez was arrested in North Carolina after Jane McQuain was found beaten and stabbed to death in her Germantown apartment on Oct. 12. An Amber Alert was issued for William, whose body was found Oct. 18 in a wooded area of Clarksburg.
Prosecutor John Maloney said McQuain was found slain in her bloodied bed.
“It looks like she was killed in her sleep,” he said. Maloney said McQuain’s skull was crushed and a 30-pound weight with blood on it was found in the home.
Investigators found a baseball bat a few feet from William’s body (in a wooded area near Interstate 270) and believe the bat was used to crush his skull, which broke into pieces, Maloney said.
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Alan Drew, the public defender representing Lopez, said the case was circumstantial and asked for a bond to be set.
Prosecutors have said they are exploring whether to pursue the death penalty in the case.
