A court hearing May 28 could determine whether the man accused of killing seven elderly patients and a nurse at Carthage nursing home last month will face the death penalty.

Robert K. Stewart was indicted earlier this month on eight counts of first-degree murder and other charges. He will face what is called a Rule 24 death penalty hearing on multiple murder indictments in Moore County Superior Court.

District Attorney Maureen Krueger has not decided whether or not to ask for the death penalty, according to Peter Strickland, her chief assistant district attorney.

"You have to request a Rule 24 hearing within 10 days of indictment for murder," Strickland said. "This will also be Mr. Stewart's first appearance on other things for which the grand jury indicted him."

Stewart is being held without bond in Central Prison on a safekeeping order signed by Senior Resident Superior Court Judge James M. Webb.

He is accused of walking into Pinelake Health and Rehabilitation Center on Sunday morning, March 29, and randomly shooting patients, some in beds and wheelchairs. Cpl. Justin Garner, the only Carthage police officer on duty that morning, halted the murderous rampage with one shot.

Garner responded to a 911 call about gunshots fired at the nursing home. Arriving, he met a woman at the nursing home door fleeing for her life, and went in alone. In a hallway confrontation with Stewart, Garner ordered him three times to drop the shotgun he was carrying, but Stewart instead brought it down to aim and fire. During the ensuing gunfight, both were injured, but Garner was able to cuff Stewart and place him under arrest.

By then, other police officers and deputies and emergency service responders from many agencies were on the scene. Nursing home personnel reassured residents and carried on the work even as crime scene technicians blocked areas and detectives from the office of Moore County Sheriff Lane Carter took over investigation, assisting the Carthage police.

The following day, released after treatment at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, Stewart was arraigned on eight counts of first-degree murder before a District Court judge in a hearing held in the sally port at the county jail and then taken directly to Central Prison. Two attorneys from an Asheboro firm were appointed to defend him by the Capital Defenders Office.

The events attracted nationwide attention, and the county seat was filled with satellite trucks, television news crews and reporters from national and international networks and news agencies. Police Chief Chris McKenzie held two televised news conferences and later traveled to New York with Garner to appear on NBC's "The Today Show."

In addition to the first-degree murder charges, the grand jury indicted Stewart on two counts of attempted murder, one count of assault on a law officer and other charges. While his appearance before the judge the day of the killings was his first on the murder charges, this will be his first appearance on the other offenses.

Contact John Chappell at 783-5841 or by e-mail at jchappell@thepilot.com.