James City County Police have arrested a man believed to have been present when Dana Patterson Mackay was killed in her Seasons Trace home in July 2013.
Gregory Andrew Crawford, a 25-year-old man from James City County, faces a first-degree murder charge.
An investigator mentioned Crawford as a fourth suspect in a court hearing back in 2013, and a “continuing investigation” led to his arrest Monday morning, Deputy Chief Steve Rubino said.
Crawford is accused of helping John Mackay, Nicole Houchin and her husband Nace Houchin kill John Mackay’s wife in her home in the Seasons Trace subdivision off Longhill Road on July 27, 2013.
Rubino said Crawford and the Houchins broke into the Dana Mackay’s residence; Nace Houchin is accused of beating her to death with a breaker bar — a tool similar to a socket wrench. John Mackay, who pleaded guilty last week for his part in planning the murder, was out of town at the time of his wife’s death.
Police believe Crawford, who worked at AutoZone on Merrimac Trail with John Mackay and Nicole Houchin, did not physically assault Dana Mackay but was present when the killing occurred, Rubino said.
The next day, a neighbor discovered Dana Mackay’s naked body covered in stab wounds with her finger cut off and blood splattered on the walls of her bedroom, court documents show. Her cause of death was determined to be blunt-force trauma.
Crawford and Nace Houchin believed John Mackay would pay them $20,000 to kill his wife. It is unclear whether they believed they would be paid $20,000 each or total, Rubino said.
Authorities arrested John Mackay and Nicole Houchin on July 29, 2013; Nace Houchin was arrested Nov. 15, 2013.
The investigation revealed a hoard of email conversations between John Mackay and Nicole Houchin — who admitted to having an affair — detailing plans to kill Dana Mackay.
John Mackay and Nicole Houchin, who were each charged with first degree murder, entered plea deals last week in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court that call for full cooperation with prosecution against Nace Houchin. They will be sentenced in May and are expected to spend decades in prison.
Nace Houchin, who was stationed at Fort Eustis with John Mackay, is set to appear in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court for a jury trial in March.
Crawford is being held at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail without bond.
Related Coverage:
- JCC Man, His Girlfriend Plead Guilty To Murdering Wife
- Attorneys Want More Time to Examine Electronic Records of Alleged Seasons Trace Killer
- JCC Husband Charged with Murdering Wife Pleads Not Guilty
- Second Person in Seasons Trace Murder Case Pleads Not Guilty
- Seasons Trace Murder Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
- Seasons Trace Trio Indicted on Capital Murder Charges
- Third Person in Seasons Trace Murder-For-Hire Scheme to Face Grand Jury
- Judge Certifies Charges Against Alleged Seasons Trace Killer to Circuit Court
- Criminal Complaint: Nace Houchin Confesses to Seasons Trace Homicide in Note
- Third Person Charged in Seasons Trace Homicide
- Police: Seasons Trace Murder Suspects May Have Had Help
- Court Documents: Online Chats Reveal Plot by Husband, His Girlfriend to Kill JCC Woman
- Duo Accused in Seasons Trace Killing Receive Court-Appointed Lawyers
- Police: Victim’s Husband, His Girlfriend Charged in Seasons Trace Homicide
- JCC Police Investigating Seasons Trace Homicide
