The killing Tuesday night of five people at the Su Jung Health Sauna in Norcross was one of the most violent incidents in Atlanta crime history. But Atlanta is no stranger to mass murder, including back-to-back massacres in 1999.
- July 12, 1999: Disgruntled boyfriend Cyrano A. Marks, 39, killed his girlfriend and five other members of her family at her Atlanta home. He committed suicide the same day, making a total of seven lives lost. The only survivor of the attack was the 11-year-old son of his girlfriend, who hid in a closet for hours after being wounded.
- July 29, 1999: Stockbridge resident Mark O. Barton, 44, shot and killed nine people and injured 13 more at two day-trading firms in Buckhead. Barton committed suicide hours later at a gas station in Acworth. Police later searched Barton's home and found the bodies of his wife and two young children. All had been killed with a hammer.
- March 11, 2005: Rape suspect Brian Gene Nichols, 31, took a gun from a guard at the Fulton County Courthouse and shot and killed three people, including the judge presiding over his trial. After escaping the courthouse, he later killed a federal agent. Nichols, convicted Nov. 7, 2008, of 54 crimes including multiple counts of murder, is serving a sentence of life in prison.
- March 19, 2006: Four people, including three teens, were fatally stabbed at a popular youth hangout in Forsyth County. Jason Samuel McGhee, 31, pleaded guilty to four counts of murder in 2011 and was sentenced to life in prison. Marcin Sosniak and Frank Ortegon Jr. await trial in the killings.
- Jan. 12, 2010: Jesse James Warren, a 60-year-old resident of Temple, allegedly shot and killed three people and seriously injured two more at a Penske Truck Rental near Kennesaw. Warren, a former Penske employee, is awaiting trial on murder charges.
About the Author
The Latest