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Two experienced local attorneys will represent the man accused of abducting and killing 16-year-old Sofia Silva of Spotsylvania County.
Ben Woodbridge and Philip Sasser were named by Judge William H. Ledbetter Jr. to represent Karl Michael Roush.
Roush, 44, was indicted on charges of murder and abduction with the intent to defile last week in Spotsylvania. He is facing a maximum penalty of two life sentences.
Sofia disappeared from her Oak Grove Terrace home on Sept. 9. Her body was found wrapped in a blanket in a King George County creek on Oct. 14.
Prosecutor William Neely said forensic evidence and witness statements tied Roush to the slaying.
Woodbridge, a former state legislator, has handled numerous high-profile cases over the years.
His last murder case was in October, when he represented 18-year-old Gary Kemp of Spotsylvania, who was convicted of second-degree murder for slaying a man at a city business.
Sasser also has experience in highly publicized murder cases. In 1993, he represented Michael D. Chewning, a 15-year-old boy who pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing his grandmother.
Meanwhile, Spotsylvania authorities said they have recovered a second van Roush owned at the time of Sofia's disappearance.
Capt. Pat Sullins said Roush sold the van to a Chancellor family. A family member called police last week after learning that they wanted the van.
Sullins said police don't expect to find any evidence in that van, "but we couldn't know that for sure until we got a look at it."
No arraignment or trial date for Roush had been set as of this morning.
