The three defendants charged in the murder of Joshua Ramos in Potter County may be facing the death penalty.

Galeton residents Felicia K. Cary, 33, Krysten L. Crosby, 21, and Kyle M. Moore, 29, are all charged with Ramos’ brutal murder. On Friday, Potter County District Attorney Andy Watson explained there is a procedure in place for prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

“I must file a Notice of Aggravating Factors prior to the formal arraignment date in the Court of Common Pleas to preserve the right to potentially pursue the death penalty,” Watson said. “I will be filing this notice shortly to preserve this right.”

Each defendant in the case was appointed two attorneys, one of which is a certified death penalty attorney in Pennsylvania, while the other is not. Certified attorneys must complete additional training and education to meet qualifications set by the state Continuing Legal Education Board.

Crosby is represented by Wellsboro attorney Eric Gurney and Reynoldsville attorney Joseph Ryan, Moore by Wellsboro attorney Thomas Walrath Jr. and Williamsport attorney Edward Rymsza, and Cary by Walter Stenhach of the Potter County Public Defender’s Office and Clearfield attorney Chris Pentz.

In a Notice of Aggravating Factors, a prosecutor must explain how the actions of the defendant were particularly egregious to the point where a harsher penalty is justified. Pennsylvania law spells out 18 factors, at least one of which must be present for a first-degree murder conviction to justify the death penalty.

Among the factors are if a victim were killed while the defendant is committing another felony, or if the victim were killed by means of torture, according to Pennsylvania law.

Ramos, 19, a New Jersey man who was living in Galeton, was killed in late March or early April, but it was not until July 5 that his murder was brought to the attention of law enforcement, according to the criminal complaint in the case.

All three were initially charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Court records indicate the following charges have since been added, again against all three defendants: second degree murder; kidnap to inflict bodily injury or to terrorize the victim, a first-degree felony; and tampering with/fabricating physical evidence, a second-degree misdemeanor.

All charges were bound to court at a preliminary hearing, according to court records.

The criminal complaint described a cruel and drawn-out assault that began at a home in Galeton, where Moore, Crosby and Cary allegedly beat Ramos for around an hour, and then began to humiliate him.

Next, they had Ramos get in a van and lie down in the third row seat. The three defendants, Ramos and a fifth person — a witness who brought the allegations to the attention of law enforcement — drove first to Ole Bull State Park in Stewardson Township, but they left because they were worried they’d be spotted on a trail camera, the complaint stated.

They started driving toward Whitman Road in Harrison Township, where the three defendants took Ramos into the woods while the fifth person stayed behind. They were gone about two hours and returned without Ramos.

On July 6, after the alleged crime was reported, Ramos’s body was found in a wooded area near the intersection of Harrison Rooks Road and Whitman Road in Harrison Township.

Crosby, Moore and Cary are incarcerated in Potter County Jail without bail due to the seriousness of the charges against them.