ATLANTA — The man accused of fatally shooting eight women in Atlanta-area spas made his first appearance Monday in a Fulton County courtroom.
Robert Aaron Long's appearance was just that, as his formal arraignment was delayed until Sept. 28. But Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis revealed she has filed sentencing enhancements against Long using Georgia's new hate crimes law.
"One was a bias of gender, against women, and the other on the basis of race," Willis said Monday. All four victims in Fulton County were Asian women.
Georgia's law offers sentencing guidelines for anyone convicted of targeting a victim based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, mental disability or physical disability.
Willis also disclosed that Long's defense team reached out in hopes of making a deal. But the DA said she will continue to pursue a death sentence for Long.
"The decisions I made were with the complete support of the families," she said.
Last month, Long plead guilty in Cherokee County to killing four people at a spa he frequented in that county. He was sentenced to four life sentences plus 35 years without the possibility of parole.
Cherokee District Attorney Shannon Wallace said she was unable to prove racial bias motivated Long. Two of the four woman Long admitted to killing at Young's Asian Massage near Acworth were Asian women.
Long told the judge in the Cherokee case that he initially planned to kill himself because of the shame he felt over what he called his "obsessive" addiction to pornography.
As he sat in his car March 16 outside Young's, Long said he began thinking about killing the people inside.
"I wanted to stop the places and basically punish the people that I could," Long told Cherokee Superior Court Judge Ellen McElyea.
He then allegedly drove to Piedmont Road, where Yong Ae Yue, 63; Soon Chung Park, 74; Suncha Kim, 69; and Hyun Jung Grant, 51, were killed at two spas.
Long was captured later that night about 150 miles south of Atlanta after Georgia State Patrol troopers and Crisp County sheriff's deputies spotted his 2007 black Hyundai Tucson. Long was arrested and booked into the Crisp County Detention Center and later returned to Cherokee County. He's now being held in Fulton jail.
Long's court-appointed attorneys requested Monday's extension, saying they have yet to receive any discovery evidence.
Willis said Monday marks the beginning of what will be "a very long journey."
"Sometimes, seeking justice is not swift," she said.
