Spa shooter Robert Aaron Long in court for final 4 slayings after pleading guilty to first 4 in Georgia
A gunman accused of killing eight people at three Asian spas in Georgia last March appeared in court Monday, when a date was set for him to enter a plea next month for the remaining murder counts against him.
Robert Aaron Long, 22, has pleaded guilty to the slaying of four people on March 16 at the start of the shooting rampage in Cherokee County. He received four sentences of life without parole plus an additional 35 years for that conviction.
The case has now moved to Fulton County, where Long faces charges related to four other victims at two Asian spas in Atlanta.
Overall, six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent, sparking widespread calls for the massacre to be prosecuted as a hate crime.
Though Cherokee County prosecutors did not deem the slayings racially motivated, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said upon Long’s conviction she plans to seek the death penalty and a sentencing enhancement under Georgia’s new hate crimes law.
The four victims who died at Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth, northwest of Atlanta, were Daoyou Feng, 44; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, 49, and Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33.
The Atlanta victims were Soon Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; Suncha Kim, 69, and Yong Ae Yue, 63.
The horrific slayings sent shock waves around the world amid an increase in Anti-Asian violence in the U.S. after the 2020 beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Long has claimed he was motivated by shame over what he considered his sex addiction, leading some officials to shy away from categorizing the murders as hate crimes. Prominent Asian Americans, including comedian/activist Margaret Cho, have said it is clear Long’s actions showed racial bias.
“You don’t ask somebody who’s committed a hate crime whether or not it’s a hate crime. It’s not something that’s up to their opinion,” she previously told the Daily News. “It is a hate crime when you’re targeting Asian women who you say make you feel a certain way so you’re going to kill them.”
Willis, the prosecutor in Atlanta, said she believes the slayings were based on bias motivated by the gender and race of the victims.
“Every person here is going to be valued, everyone is considered equal before the law, and I don’t ever want our victims to get lost,” she told reporters after Monday’s hearing. “These are all women who worked and lived and played in our community.”
She said Long’s attorneys had reached out to her office about the possibility of a plea deal, but she plans to continue to seek the death penalty.
Monday’s hearing was listed as an arraignment, but the judge focused on other matters and said Long should return Sept. 28 to enter his plea.
With News Wire Services
