Defendant Receives 2 Life Sentences In Roswell Double Murders

ROSWELL, GA -- A 34-year-old man charged with murdering two men in broad daylight has been sentenced to two life sentences in connection to the June 2014 case.

Stephen Heller pleaded guilty to two counts of malice murder, and will not be eligible for parole as part of the sentenced handed down Friday by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville.

Heller was charged with gunning down Nicholas Abry and Spencer Long, both 20, outside a home on Lynwood Drive in Roswell on June 5, 2014.

Abry’s mother, who had been standing nearby, witnessed the shooting. Moments after hearing gunshots, residents saw Heller flee from the home in a dark-colored Audi, the District Attorney's Office said.

The defendant was located by Roswell police about 25 minutes later in the parking lot of the Kroger shopping center at 900 Marietta Highway.

Officers observed blood smeared across the Audi’s dashboard and after a search of the car, found a gun holster and ammunition, the District Attorney's Office said.

A search of the wooded area surrounding the shopping center yielded a .357 magnum revolver which matched the shell casings at the homicide scene.

Roswell police previously told Patch that a money dispute may have been the motive behind the fatal shootings.

Shortly after his arrest, prosecutors said Heller called his girlfriend from the jail and confessed to discarding the weapon behind the shopping center, the DA's office said. Additional testing confirmed that the firearm was the murder weapon and Heller was subsequently charged with murder.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office initially sought the death penalty in this case. However, the family of both victims requested that Heller receive a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Subsequently, the office allowed Heller to enter a guilty plea.

Image via Roswell Police Department