A few hours after the son of a DeKalb County bishop was found shot to death at a hotel in Stone Mountain, a man and woman were arrested, police said.
Asa David Seeley, 38, and Melissa Ann Washington, 48, were charged with malice murder and booked into the DeKalb County Jail in the Sept. 19 killing of 50-year-old James Morton II.
“There is nothing like losing a child. Nothing. Nothing compares to it,” James Morton, the bishop at New Beginning Full Gospel Baptist Church, told Channel 2 Action News after his son’s death.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Morton II was found dead from gunfire outside of a room at the Budgetel Inn & Suites at 5075 Memorial Drive around 8:40 p.m., police spokeswoman Michaela Vincent said. Investigators believe Morton and the two suspects were involved in a dispute before one of the suspects began shooting, Vincent said.
According to the police report, Morton was seen on surveillance footage stopping at a different room where Seeley lived, having a conversation with the suspect and then putting his hands in the air as Seeley pointed a gun at him. The two then walked together through the breezeway before Seeley shot Morton in the back, the report said.
Seeley and Washington were identified by the police department soon after the shooting, leading to their arrests.
The bishop told Channel 2 that he often has to deal with death as part of his job and personal life. But, the death of his son simply does not compare.
“I cried all the way down 285 to Memorial Drive because I knew he was gone,” Morton told the news station.
A celebration of life service for Horton was held Saturday.
About the Author
