Of all crimes, homicides shock communities the most and carry the heaviest penalties. Recently, two people were arrested and charged with murder in Fulton County following the discovery of a woman’s body in the trunk of a car.
A man was booked into Fulton County Jail on Christmas Day 2017, reported the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Jared Kemp and De’asia Page, both 18, are accused of killing 58-year-old Toni Abad. Both men are listed as being from Fairburn.
The car was initially reported as a suspicious vehicle on Campbellton Fairburn Road in south Fulton, police said.
The body was found near a shopping center and apartments. It’s not known as a high crime area, the AJC noted. In November, police said a body was found in a home on Live Oak Trail in south Fulton County.
Murder in Fulton County? Police find body in a truck
Murder is treated very seriously by the authorities in Georgia as in every other state in the Union.
Georgia does not classify homicides in terms of degrees. In Georgia, any killing with malice or without provocation is charged as a murder.
Georgia also has a “felony murder” crime on its statute books. This crime may be charged when someone died during the commission of a felony which is “inherently dangerous.”
The classic example is if a store clerk is accidentally shot during a robbery. The robber will likely be charged with felony murder.
It makes no difference that the robber didn’t intend to shoot the clerk. The mere fact that he or she was committing a felony and ended up killing them means the perpetrator can be charged with felony murder.
The severity of the punishment in a Georgia homicide depends on the seriousness of the surrounding circumstances. Other types of homicides include voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.
Involuntary manslaughter is charged when the defendant kills someone doing something legal in an illegal way. Driving, for example, is legal, unlike robbery. But if you are committing a misdemeanor or low-level felony like driving under the influence of alcohol, you are being reckless or negligent.
A charge of voluntary manslaughter is usually brought when a defendant intentionally kills another person “in the heat of passion.” Ordinarily, this would be considered murder, but because the killing is committed in response to a provocation, the criminal charges are reduced from murder to voluntary manslaughter.
If you have been charged with a crime in Georgia, you should contact the Law Office of Michael West at (404) 913-1529.