Police arrest 2 in city slaying

From staff reports / Charlottesville Daily Progress
Published: November 13, 2007

Charlottesville police have arrested two city men in connection with the murder last week of 26-year-old Jayne Warren McGowan.

On Monday evening, authorities arrested William Douglas Gentry Jr., 22, and Michael Stuart Pritchett, 18. Both men, who reside in the 500 block of Caroline Street, have been charged with capital murder and are being held at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional jail.

McGowan, a 2003 University of Virginia graduate, was found shot dead in her home Friday afternoon on St. Clair Avenue. Her car was discovered Sunday near the Rivanna Trail, less than a mile from her home.

Police say they have recovered two handguns that they believe were used in the crime. There were no signs of forced entry at McGowan's home, police said, and, according to her father, a laptop and money were stolen from the house.

McGowan had moved back to Charlottesville six weeks ago from the Washington, D.C., area, and had been planning a fundraising gala for the local AIDS/HIV Service Group. When she did not show up for work on Friday, concerned coworkers went to her house, where they discovered her body.

Hopefully the arrests of two suspects would provide some solace to McGowan's family and friends, Police Chief Timothy J. Longo said

"On the day before her parents have to bury their daughter Jayne, I hope that this news will allow them to say goodbye with better closure and end this terrible chapter in their lives," Longo said in a statement.

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