4 Austell Men Convicted Of 2015 Murder, Robbery

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — Less than three weeks after being sworn in as Douglas County’s newest District Attorney, Ryan Leonard, announced Wednesday that four men have been convicted and sentenced for the 2015 homicide of Marc Foster, a 29-year resident of Douglas County and father.

Sean Edwards and Trillion Wyche received sentences of life in prison, while Kennard Hodge was sentenced to 35 years in prison and Khayri Tatum received 30 years in prison for their respective roles in the homicide. Hodge previously pled guilty in the homicide, while Edwards, Wyche and Tatum were set to begin trial on Monday June 4 before entering guilty pleas on June 4 and June 5 respectively.

On Oct. 7, 2015, the four men planned a coordinated robbery of Foster at his home in the Birch Landing Apartment complex located in Austell. The defendants drove to the Foster’s apartment just after 9 p.m. armed with multiple firearms, gloves, and masks and forced their way into the victim’s apartment where the victim was pistol whipped and held at gunpoint. As the defendants were searching for money and items to steal, the altercation again turned violent. As the victim attempted to flee and escape he was shot three times by multiple gunmen and succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter. The men then fled the apartment having bagged up and stolen various shoes and hats, as well as the Foster’s cell phone and a gun located in the home.

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A joint investigation by the Douglasville Police Department and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit located several pairs of medical gloves the defendants threw out of their window at the scene as they drove away from the victim’s apartment. DNA testing of the gloves identified Trillion Wyche and Sean Edwards as having worn the gloves during the robbery. Edwards, upon further investigation, was shown to previously live in the apartment above Foster and had been inside the residence with the victim many times before, proving to be familiar with the apartment and where everything of value was located.

Law enforcement officers also lifted fingerprints inside the home from some of the shoe boxes which had been bagged up to steal but left in the apartment after the shooting occurred, and testing confirmed those fingerprints belonged to Kennard Hodge. Various phone call recordings made from the jail by Hodge clearly implicated Edwards, Tatum, and Wyche as being the other three individuals who assaulted and killed the Foster. Social media records, tracking by law enforcement of the victim’s stolen phone, and ballistics examination of the bullets used to kill the victim also all led to the identification of all four men being involved in the homicide.

District Attorney Ryan Leonard called the convictions “Justice for Marc Foster and his family. While nothing will ever bring Marc back to his friends, his family, and his young daughter, these convictions ensure that his killers will be held accountable for their heinous crimes. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family as they continue to grieve and heal from their loss.”

The case was prosecuted by District Attorney Ryan Leonard, Chief Assistant District Attorney David Emadi, and Assistant District Attorney Joe Cusack. The defendants were represented by Alison Falls, Travis Glahn, Sherri Kelley, and E.D. Napier.

Photo courtesy Douglas County DA