ATLANTA — Fulton County's death penalty against the man suspected of killing eight people at three metro Atlanta spas is being delayed once again.
In a status hearing earlier this year, Chief Judge Ural Glanville said he will schedule motion hearings in Robert Aaron Long's case sometime in May. The case was expected to have some movement in October of last year but was delayed.
Long is accused of shooting and killing eight people at spas in Atlanta and in Cherokee County in March 2021. Six of the victims were women of Asian descent. Long plead not guilty in Fulton County later that year.
He did, however, plead guilty to his charges in Cherokee County and was sentenced to life without parole for the murders of Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Delaina Ashley Yaun-Gonzalez, and Paul Andre Michels at Youngs Asian Massage in Acworth. A fifth person in the spa, Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz, was shot in the face by the gunman but survived.
Glanville is assigned to Long's case, which could be one of the first times Fulton County applies its new hate crimes law in the courtroom.
Glanville is currently tied up with rapper Young Thug's RICO trial, which is expected to take eight to nine months and is still undergoing jury selection.
As for this case, "certain days in May have been set aside for a motions hearing," according to a spokesperson with the Superior Court of Fulton County.
"While the delay has been caused by many different factors, one of the most significant is the need for the parties to prepare and respond to the numerous motions that have been filed," the spokesperson said.
Remembering the lives taken
- Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33
- Paul Andre Michels, 54
- Xiaojie Tan, 49
- Daoyou Feng, 44
- Soon Chung Park, 74
- Hyun JungGrant, 51
- Sun Cha Kim, 69
- Yong Ae Yue, 63
