Staff Writer

The state could seek the death penalty against a Jonesville couple accused of murdering 16-year-old Marisha Jeter in January.

Both Yolanda and Pernell Thompson appeared in court Wednesday where requests were made before Judge John C. Hayes that the couple be mentally evaluated. The request for Mrs. Thompson's evaluation was made by her lawyer, Hattie Boyce of Spartanburg. The request for Pernell Thompson, 20, was made by Deputy Solicitor John Anthony, who said Thompson attempted suicide two weeks ago at the Union County Jail. Pernell Thompson's court-appointed attorney, Gary Frost, did not object to the request.

Hayes granted the requests that both of the Thompsons be evaluated for competency and criminal responsibility.

Mrs. Boyce told Hayes that Pernell Thompson had a “psychological hold” on his 19-year-old wife and had threatened her.

“We are asking for the evaluation to see more clearly what the indication of their relationship was,” Mrs. Boyce said. “Others have told me he seemed to change her personality. That came from teachers as well as a professor.”

Hayes asked Anthony if the case was a potential death penalty case and Anthony said it was.

After the hearing, Anthony said the decision to seek the death penalty had not been made.

“At this point, it's not something that could be excluded,” he said.

To seek the death penalty, the state must prove aggravating circumstances exist. Some aggravating circumstances are kidnapping and robbery, but Anthony would not comment on what might be present in the case against the Thompsons.

Security was tight in the courtroom, with at least a dozen extra officers present, including Sheriff Howard Wells and Union Public Safety Chief Sam White.

Marisha Jeter's family sat together in two rows, including her father, Manning; brother, T.J.; and her uncle, Lewis.

The Thompsons wore jail-issued jumpsuits and sandals, leg chains and handcuffs. Yolanda Thompson's hair was braided in corn rows and she wore wire-rimmed glasses. Pernell Thompson had a beard.

As Pernell Thompson was led in, Manning Jeter had to be quickly restrained by family members and law officers. He shook the index finger on both hands at Thompson.

Neither of the Thompsons spoke during the hearing.

Outside the courthouse, Jeter waited next to a chain-link fence that separates two parking lots and watched as officers loaded Yolanda Thompson into a jail van.

“I want you to continue to be crazy!” he yelled at her. “The last face you are going to see is going to be mine. I am going to stand there and watch them put you to sleep!”

Pernell Thompson, 20, was a student and football player at Wingate University before he and Yolanda Thompson, 19, were arrested on Jan. 5. Yolanda Thompson's lawyer said Yolanda also was a college student who was taking classes at USC-Union. The couple married in the summer of 2007 and have a child together.

They are accused of luring Marisha Jeter to the parking lot behind the Union County YMCA on Jan. 3 where Pernell Thompson, her former boyfriend, stabbed her in the throat. Authorities said the couple then took Marisha's body to the Chester County side of the Broad River and burned her car in Chester County.