Bexar D.A. commits to seeking death penalty for accused San Antonio cop killer

The punishment for the charge, if convicted, can be either death by lethal injection or life in prison without parole.

In a statement released Tuesday evening, District Attorney Joe Gonzales said the decision did not come lightly.

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“When I ran for district attorney in 2018, I promised the citizens of Bexar County that I would seek the death penalty only in the worst of the worst cases,” he said in the statement. “The facts of this case meet that standard.”

Marconi, 50, was working overtime on patrol and had pulled over a motorist in front of Public Safety Headquarters around 11:45 a.m. on a Sunday. He was sitting inside the squad car when a man approached and shot him twice in the head.

McKane was spotted on security camera video at the headquarters on the day of the shooting. The next day, he was spotted on video entering the Bexar County Courthouse to get married.

Authorities apprehended McKane about 28 hours after the slaying. He claimed he was upset about a child custody battle and that he lashed out by killing the 20-year SAPD veteran, according to previous reports.

The district attorney said that he and the capital crimes committee elected to seek the death penalty after months of reviewing evidence in the case.

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Prosecutors also met with Marconi’s family and considered their wishes, he said.

Gonzales’ announcement is similar to that made by former District Attorney Nico LaHood in January 2018, but he was voted out of office in November.

“This decision was made after much debate about the options available to me and I believe that the cold and calculating nature of the defendant’s conduct in this case deserves the death penalty,” Gonzales said.