First defendant accused in Apex murder of Eagle Scout pleads not guilty

RALEIGH -- Ryan Hare, one of four teens accused of the 2008 overdose and beating death of an Eagle Scout from Apex High School, pleaded not guilty in Wake County Superior Court this morning.

The plea came before a flurry of motions from his attorney, Robert Padovano, seeking to dismiss some of the charges against Hare and invalidate some of the evidence gathered in the case.

Matthew Silliman, 18, was found dead in late November 2008 at a vacant mobile home owned by the parents of one of the teens accused of killing him.

Hare, now 19, could spend the rest of his life in prison if the jury convicts him of first-degree murder. His trial is scheduled for later this year.