The Penn State senior stabbed to death in June and the former football player charged with his murder were known to be friends.

Defendant LaVon Chisley's lawyer, Karen Muir, said Chisley, 23, is distraught over the murder of his friend, Langston Carraway, 26, and the loss of his friendship with Carraway's family.

For authorities, it's a question of motive -- why would Chisley murder Carraway by stabbing and slashing him with knives 93 times, as authorities have alleged?

Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira and police are working on an answer to that question and believe robbery may be a motive for the homicide.

If robbery is established as a motive, Chisley, who maintains his innocence, could face the death penalty if the Commonwealth chooses to make his a capital case.

Chisley, who was arrested and charged with first- and third-degree murder Tuesday, last played defensive end for the Penn State football team in 2004 before he was declared academically ineligible in August 2005. The following year, Chisley was an NFL prospect with a few sports agents; however, he was never drafted.

Madeira said money was fronted to Chisley "in anticipation of him making the NFL draft, which he, of course, did not."

"That's the whole idea of the motive ... is that he realized 'I wasn't going to make it to the NFL, so I've gotta repay these debts somehow,' " he added.

The search warrant lists a number of parties authorities believe Chisley is indebted to, including sports agents, a dog breeder, a tattoo artist, an ex-girlfriend, a roommate and Centre County for various fines. The money being claimed as unpaid by these parties adds up to about $51,475, according to court documents.

But Karen Muir, Chisley's lawyer, said Tuesday there are no allegations in the criminal complaint, or in any court document, that give credence to robbery.

"There are no allegations ... that suggest Mr. Chisley took items belonging to Mr. Carraway, that Mr. Chisley was found with any items belonging to Mr. Carraway," she said. "There is absolutely no support in anything that I've read, or anything I've heard, for that claim."

She added that she does not know if Chisley is in debt.

Carraway was last seen alive by one of his brothers at 8 p.m. June 3 at his residence, 110 Northbrook Lane, where he was later found dead, according to court documents. Prior to that, at 3 p.m., he was seen buying wine at the Wine and Spirits Shop on North Atherton Street, police said. The criminal complaint indicates the murder happened between 8 p.m. June 3 and 6:30 a.m. June 4.

The complaint states Carraway was wearing a diamond watch and carrying a wad of cash about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick at the shop. Carraway's brother and his girlfriend confirmed to police that a JoJo diamond watch, valued between $500 and $1,500, was Carraway's. Madeira said police did not recover the watch or the cash.

Another indication that robbery may have been a driving factor in the crime was blood on the doorknobs upstairs, implicating the killer might have been searching the apartment for money or valuables, Madeira said. The murder occurred downstairs, he said.

On Tuesday, a Centre County judge ordered Muir to turn over to police financial documents related to Chisley after deciding a search warrant of Muir's office was legal.

After Muir called the Commonwealth's request a "fishing expedition" to retrieve more information on Chisley, Madeira said he thought he made it clear he wanted the documents only to see the amount of money Chisley paid and owed to Muir, in pursuit of evidence that may substantiate the motive.

Police seized the records yesterday.

Madeira said he knows the amount of monies owed and paid by Chisley to Muir, but would not comment on it.

Muir said at a press conference Tuesday that she has not made a decision about whether to appeal the court's decision to validate the search warrant.

Robbery is one of the 18 aggravating factors that constitutes a death penalty case; the Commonwealth only needs to prove one aggravating element to make Chisley's a capital case.

Madeira must make a decision about seeking the death penalty before the formal arraignment, which will be held in mid-February. He said he has not had the time to fully consider it and is focusing on the preliminary hearing at this time.

Muir said she is concerned about the possibility of the death penalty if Chisley is convicted.

"That is absolutely on the forefront of my mind," she said Tuesday. "It is something I discussed with Mr. Chisley [Monday] night and [Tuesday] morning when we arrived at the courthouse."

Charges of theft, robbery and second-degree murder, which include murder in the commission of another crime, were not filed, despite authorities' suspicion that robbery is the motive. Madeira did not file those charges because he said he would have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Chisley did take money or other items.

"For the motive, it doesn't matter whether or not he actually stole the money," Madeira said. "It's would he have a reason to A, think the victim would have money, and B, think 'I could get some from him.' Whether or not he was successful wouldn't be relevant to the issue of motive."