In the late hours of a September evening in Stone Mountain, Georgia, the life of 50-year-old James Morton Jr. was tragically cut short. On September 19, 2021, at a Budgetel Inn & Suites on Memorial Drive, a dispute escalated into a fatal encounter that ended with Morton suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The male victim was found deceased in a hallway of the motel.
Investigators quickly identified two individuals in connection with the shooting. Asa David Seeley, then 38, and Melissa Ann Washington, 48, were arrested just hours after the incident. Surveillance footage from the motel played a crucial role in the investigation, capturing the chilling moments leading up to Morton's death. The video showed Morton in a verbal altercation with Seeley. As the dispute intensified, Seeley produced a firearm and pointed it at the unarmed Morton. In an attempt to save his own life, Morton turned and ran, but Seeley pursued him, firing multiple shots into his back.
Following their arrests, both Seeley and Washington were charged with malice murder. However, the case against Washington did not proceed to a grand jury for indictment, and she was later released from jail, eventually serving as a witness during Seeley's trial. Seeley, on the other hand, faced the full extent of the law. In November 2023, a DeKalb County jury found him guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and several other gun and drug-related charges. For his crimes, Asa Seeley was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, with an additional 35 years.
