PITTSBURGH — A district attorney will pursue the death penalty against three of five adult suspects charged with torturing and murdering a mentally disabled Western Pennsylvania woman.

Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck said Monday that Ricky Smyrnes, 24, Melvin Knight, 20, and Amber Meidinger, 20, all of Greensburg, should be executed if they're convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Jennifer Daugherty.

The body of Daugherty, 30, was found stuffed in a trash container Feb. 11 after she was last seen Feb. 8, when authorities believe she first went to an apartment where Smyrnes and Knight lived.

Peck said in a statement Monday the trio deserve death because of two aggravating circumstances: Daugherty was allegedly tortured, and she was killed in the commission of other felonies.

Daugherty was forced to drink urine and detergent, and was beaten and tied up over a period of about 36 hours. She was later forced to write a purported suicide note and stabbed in the apartment.

Smyrnes' attorney, Scott Avolio, said he believes he'll be able to prove his client's mental capacity is so limited he should not be executed. Avolio said Smyrnes' IQ is 67, based on a test by a county agency a few months before the killing to determine whether he had the ability to care for his child, who was in county custody at the time. Such a low IQ could mean Smyrnes cannot be executed under a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Peck declined to comment further about the case, and Knight's attorney did not immediately return calls Monday. Meidinger's attorney, Emily Smarto, declined to comment.