CANTON, Georgia – A man accused of killing eight people, mostly women of Asian descent, in massage shops in the Atlanta area pleaded guilty to killing four of the murders on Tuesday and was sentenced to the rest to spend his life in prison.
Robert Aaron Long, 22, still faces the death penalty in the other deaths pursued in another county. The string of shootings at three companies in March sparked outrage and fueled fear among Asian Americans, who were already facing mounting hostility related to the coronavirus pandemic. Many were particularly angry when authorities claimed that Long’s crimes were not racially motivated but resulted from a sex addiction that is not recognized as an official disorder.
Cherokee County prosecutors had planned to seek the death penalty, but decided that a plea deal would bring speedy justice and avoid lengthy appeals. That is what the victims and their families wanted to contact, District Attorney Shannon Wallace said.
Bonnie Michels’ 24-year-old husband Paul was the first person to be killed.
“Part of me died with him that day,” she told the judge. “I am devastated.”
Elcias Hernandez Ortiz, who was shot in the face, also spoke in court, saying it was very difficult for his family.
“Honestly, this man, why didn’t he think about it before killing so many people? I just want justice, ”he said of a Spanish translator.
On March 16, Long shot and killed four people, three of whom were women and two of Asian descent, at Young’s Asian Massage in Cherokee County. A fifth person was injured. Long then drove to Atlanta, where he shot three women at the Gold Spa before crossing the street to the Aromatherapy Spa and killing another woman, police said. All of the victims in Atlanta were of Asian descent.
In Atlanta, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has announced that she will seek the death penalty. In addition to murder, Long is charged there with aggravated assault and domestic terrorism.
Wallace reiterated Tuesday that Cherokee County investigators saw no evidence of racial bias. Long went through the first spa “shoot anyone and everyone he saw” and told detectives that he was motivated by a sex addiction.
“That wasn’t any kind of hate crime,” Wallace said during the hearing.
Investigators interviewed people Long had known for years, including three of Asian descent, who said they had never made racist comments to him, she said. Her team also took into account the diversity of the people who were shot in Cherokee County. Among them were a Hispanic man and a white man and a white woman.
Asian-American community leaders said Tuesday they were concerned the shootings continue to be attributed to sex addiction. Long’s crimes were “against Asians, especially Asian women,” said State Representative Bee Nguyen, the first Vietnamese-American woman to serve at the Georgia House, who frequently advocated women and colored communities.
Wallace said she argued in court that Long was motivated by gender bias, although that would not have extended his sentence.
Prosecutors in Fulton County, where all victims were Asian women, said they believe Long was motivated by race and gender. They plan to strive to improve the penalty for hate crimes.
Georgia’s new hate crime law does not provide for a stand-alone hate crime. After a conviction for an underlying crime, a jury will decide whether it was bias motivated, which comes with an additional penalty.
The American Psychiatric Association does not recognize sex addiction in its main reference manual on mental disorders. While some people have difficulty controlling their sexual behavior, it is often linked to recognized disorders or moral beliefs, said David Ley, clinical psychologist and author of The Myth of Sex Addiction.
Long before that, Wallace had undergone inpatient and outpatient treatment for sex addiction. In fact, it was another patient who gave him the idea of using sexual services in massage shops, she said.
Long signed a plea agreement admitting all charges in Cherokee County, including premeditation, criminal murder, attempted murder, and aggravated assault. Cherokee County Superior Court chief judge Ellen McElyea then sentenced him to four life sentences without parole plus an additional 35 years.
Those Killed in Cherokee County: Michels, 54; Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; and Delaina Yaun, 33. The Atlanta victims were: Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; and Yong Ae Yue, 63.
Long said he planned to commit suicide that day and went to the massage shops thinking that paying for sex – which he thought was shameful – would push him to do it. But while he was sitting in his car outside the first fun, he decided to kill the people in it.
After being caught in South Georgia, Long told detectives that he was struggling with pornography and sex. He believed he was addicted and felt tremendously guilty for watching porn or engaging in sexual acts in massage stores, Wallace said.
Long blamed the victims for his inability to control his impulses, Wallace said.
Long is due to be indicted in Fulton County next month. His Cherokee County attorneys said in a statement that they hope prosecutors will follow Wallace’s lead and reach a similar settlement.
Wallace said Long wanted to commit similar crimes in Florida after the shootings at the two Atlanta spas.
At the time, his parents had called the authorities after they recognized their son in pictures from a security video that the authorities posted online. His parents were already tracking his movements through an application on his phone so they would know if he was visiting massage shops, the prosecutor said, and this enabled officials to find him.
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