Man Charged With Killing Elderly Women

A 36-year-old man was charged Wednesday with two counts of aggravated first-degree murder, accused of killing two elderly women so he could trade a television and other modest household goods for drugs.

Gerald Dewayne Davis pleaded innocent to the charges in Pierce County Superior Court. He was ordered held without bail. A hearing on pre-trial motions was scheduled for Feb. 13, according to the office of Pierce County Prosecutor John Ladenburg.

Davis also faces a charge of attempted residential burglary in the prowling incident Monday that led to his arrest.

Prosecutors also served notice Wednesday they are considering seeking the death penalty if Davis is convicted.

Davis is accused of killing Mildred Pirie, 91, and Blanche Titus, 77, who were found dead Jan. 28, bound and gagged, at Pirie’s east Tacoma home. Titus, who lived nearby, often cooked for her friend and sometimes spent the night.