GA. MAN GUILTY OF KILLING 8 IN MOBILE HOME : BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man was convicted of murder Friday in the beating deaths of his father and seven extended family members inside the cramped mobile they all shared, but he was spared a death sentence in a deal attorneys made to avoid a hung jury.
Guy Heinze Jr., 26, stood silently while his younger brother ran cursing from the courtroom after the jury's verdict was read. The last-minute deal to withdraw the death penalty means Heinze will be sentenced to life in prison. The trial judge will decide later whether he will be eligible for parole.
Prosecutors said Heinze had been smoking crack cocaine Aug. 29, 2009, when he killed his father and the other victims, all members of an extended family. They said he killed the first victim in a dispute over a bottle of prescription painkillers he wanted to steal, then killed the others to avoid getting caught.
Each of the victims died from multiple crushing blows to the head from what police believe was a shotgun barrel, though the murder weapon was never found. Autopsies showed they suffered a combined total of more than 220 wounds.
TONY NG PAROLED IN SEATTLE MASSACRE AFTER 30 YEARS: ABERDEEN, Wash. (AP) — One of three men convicted in the 1983 massacre of 13 people at a Seattle gambling club is being paroled.
The Washington Department of Corrections parole board has decided to release Wai Chiu "Tony" Ng (eng) after 30 years in prison. He was convicted of robbery and assault for his role in the shooting at the Wah Mee club.
Ng will be released 35-40 days from Friday to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and will be deported to Hong Kong.
Fourteen people were tied up, robbed and shot in the head in the shootings at Seattle's Wah Mee club. One man survived to identify the assailants.
Ng appeared before the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board in August. He said if he's released, he wouldn't fight deportation back to Hong Kong, where his father is sick.
The board noted Ng has demonstrated a positive attitude and work ethic in prison.
Co-defendants Kwan Fai "Willie" Mak and Benjamin Ng were convicted of aggravated murder and are serving life sentences without chance of parole. Tony Ng is no relation to Benjamin Ng.
Unlike his co-defendants, Ng was not convicted of murder but was convicted on 13 counts of first-degree robbery and a single count of assault. Sentencing rules in place at the time allowed a state parole board to determine when Ng was fit for release.
Tony Ng was charged in the murders, but claimed he had been forced to participate in the massacre by Mak. While prosecutors now say the jury shouldn't have heard that defense, jurors found in Ng's favor and convicted him only of robbery.
