Nearly a decade after the District Attorney’s office announced it would seek the death penalty against a double-murder suspect, prosecutors wrote in court filings last week they’ve dropped their pursuit of capital punishment at the request of the victims’ family.

Cesar Mazza, 35, has been awaiting trial on charges of homicide and kidnapping for more than 10 years. He’s accused of bludgeoning his ex-girlfriend and her grandmother inside their East Hills home in May 2015 before kidnapping the infant son he had with the younger woman.

Tionna Banks, 19, and 72-year-old Valorie Crumpton were found dead inside Ms. Crumpton’s Karl Street home on May 7, 2015. Ms. Banks had been reported missing two days prior after she missed a scheduled appointment with a social services agency.

Ms. Banks had

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