Spa shooting suspect agrees to plead guilty to four murders
A man accused of killing eight people — six of them Asian women — at three Atlanta-area spas in March has agreed to plead guilty to killing four of the victims. Robert Aaron Long is expected to enter the plea in Cherokee County before being transferred to Fulton County to face charges in the murders of the four other victims there.
Long, 22, appeared in Cherokee County court Tuesday morning, where lawyers said he would plead guilty to killing Xiaojie "Emily" Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Yaun, 33; and Paul Michels, 54, reports CBS Atlanta station WGCL's Ashley Thompson. Long entered guilty pleas to a 23-count indictment and agreed to a penalty of life without parole, Thompson reports.
Prosecutors in Fulton County, where Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; and 63-year-old Yong Ae Yue were slain, have said they intend to seek hate crime enhancements and the death penalty. Long is expected to be arraigned there before August 6.
The killings sparked grief and outrage in the Asian-American community, which has seen an increase in hate incidents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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