Smyrna Man Faces Trial In Deaths Of Cobb Couple Shot In Front Of 3-Year-Old

SOUTH COBB, GA -- Jury selection was expected to begin Monday in the case of a man accused of shooting a couple in front of their 3-year-old daughter in Powder Springs. Roy Lee Hicks, who also goes by Lee Brown, of Smyrna, is facing 14 charges, including felony and malice murder, aggravated assault, cruelty to children and drug possession in the double slayings.

In August 6, 2015, Powder Springs police responded to a single-vehicle accident around 2 a.m. only to discover 24-year-old Anthony Costner dead from multiple gunshot wounds. His 22-year-old wife Catherine was bleeding profusely from several bullet wounds and was clinging to life. The couple's daughter was inside the car and, miraculously, unharmed.

Catherine later succumbed to her injuries in a hospital.Law enforcement authorities launched an investigation, which found that the couple were shot during an apparent drug deal gone bad. Hicks, along with Demarco Thomas of Marietta and Raymond Ladell Webb, were all arrested in the double murder.

In an indictment released in October 2015, Hicks was accused of being the gunman.

Thomas and Webb were indicted for allegedly hindering the apprehension of a criminal, concealing the death of another, bail jumping and violation of the Georgia Controlled Substance Act.

L-R: Roy Lee Brown, Raymond Ladell Webb, Demarco Thomas (Credit: Cobb County Sheriff’s Office/Powder Springs police)