Man Pleads Guilty To Asian Spa Murders

July 27, 2021 4:14 am

CANTON, Ga. (AP) – A man accused of killing eight people, most of them of Asian descent, at Atlanta-area massage businesses pleaded guilty to four of the murders. He was handed four sentences of life without parole. Robert Aaron Long still faces the death penalty in the four other deaths, which are being prosecuted in a different county. His shooting spree at three different businesses in March ignited outrage and fueled fear among Asian Americans, who were already facing increased hostility at the time. In comments sure to further frustrate those outraged over Long’s apparent targeting of Asian women, a prosecutor said Tuesday that Cherokee County investigators saw no evidence of racial bias. That’s at odds with the hate crime enhancement that Long faces in the four other deaths in Atlanta.