A Georgia man has pleaded guilty on Tuesday to four murders related to the shootings at three metro Atlanta spas last March.
Robert Aaron Long is accused of killing eight people in the shootings, six of whom are of Asian descent, that took place in Cherokee County and Atlanta.
Long entered a guilty plea with the Cherokee County District Attorney’s office for 23 charges related to the shooting. His legal team negotiated for a plea of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The 22-year old is accused of killing Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng and Delaina Ashley Yaun-Gonzalez at a spa in Cherokee County. Another male, Elcias Rocendo Hernandez Ortiz, had severe injuries when he was shot in the face.
Long could still face execution if convicted in Atlanta for murdering four others at two spas there. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed a motion on Monday in Fulton County Superior Court to have Long transported to a Fulton jail before his arraignment on four other counts of murder and several other charges. This includes domestic terrorism, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony.
Willis said she plans to pursue the death penalty and hate crime charges for Long. She plans to move quickly once Long’s hearing in Cherokee County is complete, according to NBC News.
“After Mr. Long concludes his hearing in Cherokee County, I want to ensure that the process in Fulton County proceeds as quickly as possible,” Willis said, according to NBC News. “The victims of the crimes Mr. Long is accused of committing in Fulton County deserve no less.”
The shootings occurred on March 16. Police have said that Long shot and killed four people, three of them women and two of Asian descent, at Young’s Asian Massage in Cherokee County just before 5 p.m. A fifth person was also shot and wounded, according to investigators.
Long then drove south to Atlanta, where he shot and killed three women at Gold Spa before going across the street to Aromatherapy Spa and fatally shooting another woman, according to police.
In initial interviews with investigators, Long claimed to have a “sex addiction.” Authorities said he allegedly lashed out at the spa businesses that he viewed as a sexual temptation.
