By Seamus McGraw

Lancaster County , PA  (Crime Library) — The sun came creeping over the hills this morning slow and quiet, as of it was trying not to spook the cold mist that grazed on the stubble of last summer's corn. Listen hard enough and you could hear the bucks, bigger this year than last, pawing through the wet fallen leaves to get to the fallen nuts and the last few shoots of grass.

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It's the first day of rifle season and in Pennsylvania it's practically a state holiday when businesses and schools shut down and the hills and flatlands are full of hunters and fleeing deer.

If David Ludwig had his druthers, he'd probably be hiding in a tree stand somewhere, clad in fluorescent orange, clutching his gun and holding his breath or maybe taking up a position in the brush at the end of a deer drive.

Last year, he and his buddy each took a doe. They field dressed them and posed proudly with their kills. Ludwig posted the pictures on his blog. Maybe this year, he would have gotten lucky and taken a buck. All he needed was a chance. "I usually hit what I shoot at," Ludwig had said, though he had made the comment in a vastly different context.

This year, though, Ludwig is not in the field.

He's in the Lancaster County jail, charged with murdering his 14-year-old girlfriend's parents. If convicted, Ludwig could face the death penalty, although prosecutors have not yet said whether they intend to seek it. And sources close to the case say it is unlikely that the prosecution will seek the death penalty in the case. His age and the fact that he has no prior criminal record are likely to auger against the imposition of a death sentence, authorities say. What's more, any effort to pursue a capital case against Ludwig would be likely to open up a series of complex issues that could stretch out what is otherwise a straight forward case. Assuming that detailed statements Ludwig gave to authorities after his arrest go unchallenged, sources familiar with the case say they expect Ludwig to plead guilty to two counts of murder in exchange for a sentence of life in prison.

His girlfriend, 14-year-old Kara Borden, who fled with him across two states because, Ludwig told investigators, she wanted to get married and begin a new life with him, has not been charged in connection with the double slaying. And sources familiar with her case say that no charges are likely. Though Ludwig had originally been charged with kidnapping the teenage girl, that charge was dismissed after authorities learned that she had gone willingly with him. Ludwig apparently told authorities that the pert and pretty young home schooler had no part in planning her parents' death. (See profile of David Ludwig)

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