DA Will Seek Death Penalty In Gwinnett Torture Deaths

PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA — Gwinnett County's district attorney will seek the death penalty for a man charged with torturing a 61-year-old Peachtree Corners woman and her son before killing them.

Rickey Taylor, 28, of Norcross, faces 19 charges including murder, false imprisonment and armed robbery in the deaths of Nicola Sramek, 61, and James Sramek, 27.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that District Attorney Danny Porter will seek the ultimate penalty, saying the attack "involved torture, depravity of mind."

Taylor, who was in jail for armed robbery when charged in the case and who faces a separate murder charge out of Cobb County, is accused of killing the mother and son on, or around, August 7, 2016.

The two were discovered in their home, in the 3300 block of Chelsea Park Lane after a family member called police saying she had not been able to reach them.

The two are believed to have been dead for some time before they were discovered, police say.

Police said "blunt force trauma and stabbing" suggested the two had been tortured before they were killed and minced no words assigning the blame to Taylor.

"Taylor is a heinous criminal and exhibited the darkest side of humanity," Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Deon Washington said at the time. "It is very disturbing to know that there are people in our society who are capable of exacting such levels of violence against others. The Gwinnett County Police Department stands side by side with the victim’s family in seeing to it that justice is served in a court of law."

Police believe robbery was the motive in the killings. They say Taylor, who police have linked to a spree of armed robberies in the area, and James Sramek knew each other.

Taylor was tied to the scene of the killings through video surveillance and physical evidence, police say.
Jamie Arvia, Nicola Sramek's daughter and James Sramek's sister, told the Gwinnett Daily Post that her brother's "fast lane" lifestyle may have been a factor in him being targeted.

She described him as a rapper and bartender.

Photo courtesy Gwinnett County Police Department