Four Held in Deaths at Buddhist Temple Will Be Released

Prosecutors said Wednesday that they plan to drop charges against four men arrested two months ago in the slayings of six Buddhist monks, a nun and two students at their temple outside Phoenix, and instead will prosecute two teen-agers who have since confessed to the killings.

Maricopa County Atty. Richard M. Romley will ask a judge to order the four released unless, by Friday morning, sheriff’s deputies come up with additional evidence linking them to the murders, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The four were arrested in September after one, a mental patient, told investigators that they had committed the murders. However, they later recanted their confessions.

The two juveniles were arrested last month after ballistics tests linked them to a rifle and a shotgun used in the slayings. The murders were committed during a robbery attempt, investigators said. So far, investigators have found no evidence connecting the four men to the juveniles.