Murderer of Cobb attorney convicted, sentenced to life without parole
Oct. 15—The killer of Rajesh "Raj" Mehta, the Cobb County Magistrate Court senior staff attorney who was murdered in 2020, has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Terrance Scott was found guilty during an eight-day trial last month of Mehta's murder along with a host of additional charges, according to Megan Matteucci, a spokesperson for the Henry County District Attorney's office.
Mehta, 45, was killed in May 2020 while confronting Scott outside of a Locust Grove home. Investigators believed Mehta, who was driving for Uber Eats that night, was forced to drive Scott to the home.
Scott shot Mehta three times, killing him, before breaking into the home. He went on to physically and sexually assault a woman inside, taking her hostage during a two-hour standoff. Several children were in the home at the time as well.
Mehta had worked in the magistrate's office since 2008, and was praised as a hero for trying to stop Scott from entering the house. Chief Magistrate Judge Brendan Murphy told the MDJ he attended all eight days of the trial, where the prosecution's case bore out Mehta's bravery.
"All the evidence showed exactly what we already knew: Raj died a hero protecting a family he didn't even know. The survivors are beautiful and grateful and brave," Murphy said.
Murphy said a number of other members of Cobb's legal community, including staff members, attorneys, and judges, attended the trial as well.
Tim Williams, a Marietta lawyer, was a longtime close friend of Mehta's who also attended every day of the trial.
There, Williams learned one of the three bullets fired by Scott passed through Mehta's arm, and was lodged in the door — suggesting Mehta had been standing between Scott and the other victims when he was killed.
"It just confirmed kind of what everyone had suspected beforehand, which is that Raj was really trying to stop this," Williams said. "...There's no doubt about it that he just put his life on the line."
He recalled seeing on police body camera footage shown at the trial that Mehta's car was still running, with the keys in the ignition.
"It's amazing that he didn't just drive off ... he had an opportunity," Williams said.
Williams, who attended movies and Dragon Con with Mehta, remembered his friend as a man who took care to learn what his friends loved.
"He knew what people liked and what made him happy. The guy just had a lot of love in his heart for people," he added.
Scott was sentenced to two life sentences along with an additional 101 years in prison, and is currently held at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.
An endowment has been established in Mehta's name at the University of Georgia's law school, of which Mehta was an alumnus. Those interested in learning more about his life can visit www.law.uga.edu/rajesh-raj-mehta-memorial-endowment-family-justice.
