Man Who Murdered Cobb Couple In Front Of Baby Gets 2 Life Sentences

MARIETTA, GA -- A Smyrna man will spend the rest of his life behind bars in the slaying of a Cobb County couple in front of their toddler, Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds' Office announced Thursday.

Roy Lee Brown Jr., also known as Ray Lee Hicks was sentenced Thursday afternoon to two life without parole sentences, plus an additional 30 years to serve. Cobb Superior Court Judge Ann Harris handed down the sentence, the culmination of a seven-day jury trial in which jurors deliberated for two hours before returning a guilty verdict. SIGN UP: To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Smyrna Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.

Brown was convicted of multiple crimes, including, one count of cruelty to children in the first degree, two counts of possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, two counts of malice murder, six counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of attempt to violate the Georgia Controlled Substances Act.

In August 2015, Powder Springs police responded to call about a single-vehicle accident only to discover that a car in a ditch by the roadside. Inside it were Anthony and Catherine Costner, a young couple with a toddler in tow. Upon closer inspection, officers discovered that Anthony Costner was fatally wounded, the result of multiple gunshot wounds. Catherine Costner was bleeding profusely, but held onto life just long enough to reach a local hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. Their 3-year-old child was unharmed.

Powder Springs police detectives launched an investigation, where they found out that the Costners were killed in a drug deal gone bad. Brown and two other men arranged to buy roxycontin, a narcotic pain reliever, from the Costners, police said. Little did the couple know, the trio plotted to rob them, police said.

The drug deal was set to go down in the middle of the night at a a home in the 3700 block of Parks Drive in Powder Springs -- but first the parties planned to meet at an area BP gas station.

Soon after they all met up, a confrontation ensued, with Anthony Costner getting pistol-whipped by one of the men. Brown then opened fire on the couple's vehicle, riddling the car with bullets as the 3-year-old was strapped in a car seat in the back seat. Anthony Costner was hit in the hands, chest and face.

Cobb prosecutors said that Brown also suffered a gunshot wound, before fleeing to a nearby car. A passerby called 911 after seeing the Costners' red Pontiac Grand Am backed into a ditch against a tree line.

"This defendant, a convicted felon with a firearm, maliciously murdered this young couple in front of their own child out of pure greed before fleeing into the darkness," said Chief Assistant District Attorney Jesse Evans, the lead prosecutor in the case. "While we would never condone the drug activity that prompted this encounter, the Costners' murders serve as an example of the senseless dangers drugs can play in our community."

The two suspects who were with Brown that fateful August morning, Raymond Ladell Webb and DeMarco Thomas, are both charged with two counts of concealing a death, one count of conspiracy to violate the Georgia Controlled Substances Act and one count of hindering apprehension of a criminal.

Image via Cobb County Sheriff's Office