Man Accused of Planning Sorority Killings Denied Release

Man Accused of Planning Sorority Killings Denied Release
A judge's gavel in a file photo. AlexStar/iStock
The Associated Press
Updated:

CINCINNATI—A judge has ordered a man accused of planning to kill sorority members at an Ohio university to remain behind bars.

Magistrate Judge Stephanie Bowman on Friday cited a parole violation and the “serious nature of the charges” as reasons to keep 21-year-old Tres Genco in custody. The Hillsboro, Ohio, resident appeared in federal court in Cincinnati on charges of an attempted hate crime and possession of a machine gun.

Federal prosecutors said earlier that Genco identifies himself as an “incel”—involuntary celibate—and has interacted with an online community of mostly men who advocate for violence against women because they believe they are unjustly denied sexual or romantic attention.

Prosecutors allege that Genco conducted surveillance at an Ohio university in January 2020, described a document he wrote as “the writings of the deluded and homicidal” and signed it “Your hopeful friend and murderer.”

Local police searched Genco’s home in March 2020 and found a firearm with an attached bump stock—which allows it to be rapidly fired—a pistol, loaded ammunition magazines, boxes of ammunition, and body armor, prosecutors said.

During Friday’s detention hearing, defense attorney Richard Monahan sought his client’s release to the custody of his mother, saying he was already serving a state prison sentence based on similar evidence. Prosecutor Megan Painter argued that he presents an imminent danger to the public, and the judge agreed.