Roswell Double Murder Suspect Competent To Stand Trial: Judge

ATLANTA, GA -- A man charged with two counts of murder, alongside other charges, is competent to stand trial, a judge has ruled. The murders were committed behind a Roswell grocery store.

Jeffrey Hazelwood, 20, is being accused of murdering Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis, both 17, in the early hours of Aug. 1 last year. He was charged with their murders two days later. The details of the murder are grim.

On Aug. 1, at approximately 3:00 a.m., Hazelwood approached the vehicle Henderson and Davis were using, opened a rear door, and was confronted by Davis. "He said he struck [Davis] with his gun and then, because he was afraid of the teenager, shot [Davis] in the head," Roswell police Detective Jennifer Bennett said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Detective Bennett continued describing Hazelwood's account of the event, saying he then ordered Henderson out of the vehicle and made her take her clothes off. He sexually assaulted Henderson, spanked her and then shot her in the head, according to Detective Bennett's testimony.

Hazelwood then allegedly fled the scene and made a purchase at a gas station using Henderson's credit card while wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. Then, he returned to the scene to steal the jumper cables from the vehicle Davis and Henderson were in, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"When police arrested him at a convenience store about 48 hours later, they found the mask in his car, the jumper cables and a revolver they believe was the murder weapon," the Journal-Constitution reported.

His charges, which total at 15, include two counts of murder, aggravated assault, sexual battery and more.

Hazelwood has suffered from mental illness for years, his attorneys said, and he was not competent to stand trial. While being held on the multiple charges, Hazelwood was transferred from Fulton County Jail to Central State Hospital in Milledgeville. Christian Hildreth, a psychologist treating Hazelwood at Central State, said Hazelwood was not receiving adequate mental health medication at the Fulton Jail.

However, Dr. Hildreth believed that Hazelwood was competent to stand trial. “Therefore, based upon the evidence and testimony presented at the competency hearing, including Dr. Hildreth’s opinion that Mr. Hazelwood is competent to enter a guilty plea, as well as this court’s review of the medical records and observations of Mr. Hazelwood’s appropriate in-court behavior during the competency hearing, his apparent willingness and ability to consult with defense counsel when necessary, and his suitable and coherent responses to the court’s questioning during the competency proceedings,” Judge Shawn LaGrua said in an order.

Hazelwood will face a grand jury on Sept. 9.

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