Hicks is in court for a death penalty hearing Monday.
LINK: Watch the hearing here
The Durham County District Attorney said Monday he will seek the death penalty against Craig Hicks if he is convicted of first-degree murder.
Hicks turned himself in shortly after police officers found University of North Carolina dental student Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Shalha, 21, and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, dead inside their home in Chapel Hill on February 10 allegedly after an ongoing parking dispute. He was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder.
Hicks and the victims had previously argued over parking, but the victims' families claim they were targeted because of their religion – all three were Muslim – and have pushed for hate-crime charges.
None of the victims had parked their cars in Hicks' assigned space the day of the shootings. Search warrants show Hicks kept an inventory of parking activity around his condominium as well as pictures. Police officers also seized weapons from Hicks' home, according to ABC11.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations is conducting a "parallel preliminary inquiry" to determine whether federal hate crime laws were violated.
According to The News & Observer , none of the 149 North Carolina inmates currently on death row were convicted in Durham.
The apartment building where the shooting occurred.
Michael Biesecker / AP
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