Man Charged in Decades-old Marietta Apartment Attack

MARIETTA, GA -- The Cobb County DA's office has charged a man already serving a life sentence for murder in North Carolina with a 1992 Marietta aggravated assault.

Using forensic evidence, Cobb County DA Vic Reynolds has charged Terrance Wright in the Sept. 3, 1992, stabbing of a leasing agent at the Canterbury Lane Apartment complex.

"The victim, who was 43 at the time, was alone in the leasing office when a man entered and inquired about leasing an apartment," Reynolds said. "Suddenly, he brandished a knife. The man forced the woman into the office’s bathroom. As he was removing her clothing, the attacker became spooked by a noise and stabbed the woman three times in her left upper chest area, and then fled."

The woman survived her injuries.

In January 2016, Cobb Sheriff’s Office crime-scene technicians tested forensic evidence in the case using procedures not available in 1992, and received a match to Wright. Further investigation found Wright was in Marietta around the time of the attack.

Last week, police took an arrest warrant charging Wright with aggravated assault and attempted rape.

Wright, now 46, is serving a life sentence for murder in North Carolina. He was also convicted of rape and murder in South Carolina and will be sent to that state if he is paroled in North Carolina.

Police and officials from the DA's office Cold Case Unit traveled to North Carolina last week to interview Wright, who denied any involvement in the 1992 case. The investigators also notified the victim that her case had not been forgotten.