FRANKFORT — Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson will decide in coming weeks whether to seek the death penalty in the murder case against former gubernatorial candidate and state legislator Steve Nunn.

Nunn, who was charged late Monday with the murder of his former fiancée Amanda Ross, would be eligible for the death penalty because he also allegedly violated a protective order in place at the time of Ross's shooting death.

Police believe Nunn shot Ross in the parking lot of her gated townhouse complex early Friday morning in Lexington.

Larson would not comment on the case or whether he would seek the death penalty against Nunn on Tuesday. But the longtime Fayette County Commonwealth's Attorney is widely known for not cutting deals in murder cases and typically files for the death penalty if there is an aggravating factor in the murder, defense attorneys said Tuesday.

If Larson seeks the death penalty, the already high-profile murder case will come under even more scrutiny, defense attorneys said.

"Any prosecutor is going to feel concern and pressure anytime you have a situation where it could warrant a death penalty," said Bill Johnson, a longtime criminal defense attorney in Frankfort.

Both Nunn and Ross are from well-known families.

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