Crime & Safety
Victims in 2 Separate Murders Include Suspect's Mother: Police
Justin Paul Hess, 31, arrested after weekend manhunt, according to Cobb County Police.
MARIETTA, GA – Residents of one Marietta neighborhood are breathing easier after an intense search for a murder suspect brought police and SWAT officers to their homes.
Cobb County police said 31-year-old Justin Paul Hess, who was arrested this weekend in the slaying of his mother in their Marietta home. He is also a suspect in the death of a Sandy Springs man.
The search began Friday when Cobb County officers responded to a report about shots fired in the 400 block of Bridle Patch NE in Marietta. When officers entered the townhouse, they found the body of a woman, 61-year-old Carol Ann Hess.
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She died from apparent gunshot wounds, according to Cobb County police.
Cobb County officers combed the neighborhood looking for the suspect, but to no avail. Rattled neighbors spoke to local TV news crews about the surreal scene outside their homes.
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Cobb Co. Police arrested Justin Hess, after they say he killed his mom at her townhome. He's also accused of killing another person. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/lOkdgLYuSY
— Audrey Washington (@AudreyWSBTV) December 19, 2016
Hours later, Sandy Springs police reported that a man had been killed at about 10 p.m. at the Extra Space Storage facility on Roswell Road.
On Monday, Sandy Springs police identified the victim as 53-year-old William P. Haynes. Police said that he succumbed to "multiple stab wounds."
"Officers discovered that that the victim’s red, 2016 Audi S5 was missing from the parking lot and they also found that another vehicle was left behind," Sandy Springs police said in a news release.
The suspect's car matched the description of one left at the Marietta scene.
On Saturday, neighbors alerted the authorities that Justin Paul Hess had returned to the townhouse, sparking an intense standoff. A Cobb County SWAT unit descended upon the townhome.
Hess stepped out of a basement apartment and surrendered to law enforcement without incident, Cobb County police said in a news release.
Hess is charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in the death of his mother, 61-year-old Carol Ann Hess. He is in the Cobb County Detention Center, according to information from the sheriff's office.
Image courtesy of Cobb County Sheriff's Office
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