BY BILL McKELWAY

Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

A lawyer for Powhatan County murder suspect Joseph Parrish said tonight that Parrish, 17, denies shooting county high school football star Tahliek Taliaferro.

The declaration shifts focus of the case to the role of Parrish's cousin, Ethan Parrish, 24, who is also charged with murder. Court documents identify the shooter as a male, which would eliminate the third defendant, Stephanie C. Reynolds, 19.

Virginia law does not differentiate the shooter from other defendants with a role in a murder, but prosecutors typically attempt to punish most severely those who actually commit slayings.

On Monday, Powhatan Commonwealth's Attorney Robert B. Beasley Jr. told a juvenile judge that Joseph Parrish was the shooter in the high-profile murder case. Beasley was asking the judge to order that Joseph Parrish be held without bond.

Today, the question of who did the shooting did not come up in court appearances in Powhatan for Ethan Parrish and Reynolds. But after court, Beasley declined to reaffirm statements he made Monday about Joseph Parrish's role in the slaying.

Contact Bill McKelway at bmckelway@timesdispatch.com