A Birmingham woman charged with two counts of capital murder was appointed legal counsel by the court during a hearing held before Circuit Court Judge J. Michael Joiner Thursday morning.

Joiner appointed W. Barry Alvis as defense attorney for Tia Shuntraneke Davis and tentatively set a preliminary hearing for April 27. Davis filed an affidavit of indigence during a 72-hour hearing.

Alvis asked that attorney William K. DelGrosso also be appointed for the defense, but made no request for bond.

District Attorney Bill Bostick said, &8220;We will proceed with this as a capital murder case.&8221; He said there should not be any bond set until the cause is resolved by trial.

Davis, 25, of Pike Road in Birmingham was arrested April 4 and charged with two counts of capital murder in connection with the April 2 homicide of a man and woman on Hunt Cliff Road in North Shelby County.

Sheriff Chris Curry identified the victims as Michael Adrian Edwards, 26, of the 5000 block of Hunt Cliff Road and Ulesha Renee Stoner, 28, of Shelbyville, Ky. He said Stoner appeared to be staying with Edwards and was scheduled to return to Kentucky on April 10.

While the sheriff said the relationship between the victims was &8220;unclear,&8221; he said, Davis and Edwards had known each other for more than10 years.

In addition to &8220;a particularly brutal murder scene,&8221; Curry said some property was removed, indicating the possibility of robbery.

Bostick said the weapon used in the murder was a handgun, but would not reveal the caliber or state if the defendant had a pistol permit.

While Bostick said the case involved &8220;a death eligible capital offense,&8221; he said the decision to seek the death penalty has not been made.

&8220;Because this is a capital offense, the level of scrutiny investigators give is higher than any other type of investigation,&8221; said Bostick. While he would not comment as to whether others were involved, he said Sheriff&8217;s Office Investigators have &8220;not stopped doing their job just because they have made an arrest.&8221;

Davis remains in the custody of the Shelby County Jail without bond. Her mother Gwen Crawford was present in the courtroom for the hearing