In the fall of 2016, a young man's life was cut short in Thomson, Georgia, leading to a homicide investigation that would ultimately see another man sentenced to life in prison. The victim was 18-year-old Brian Matthew Parks.
On the evening of Tuesday, October 18, 2016, at an apartment complex in Thomson, Brian Parks was fatally shot. The shooting occurred inside an apartment where Parks had been living with the man who would eventually be convicted of his murder, Brian Atkins Jr. In the immediate aftermath, Atkins claimed the shooting was an accident, stating he didn't know the gun was loaded. However, Parks's dying words to a friend who was present were, 'Jada, call 911. just shot me.'
Initially, Atkins provided a false account of the events to investigators, claiming Parks had been shot outside the apartment by someone else. This story quickly unraveled. The investigation revealed a prior altercation between Atkins and Parks six weeks before the shooting, during which Atkins had threatened Parks. The forensic evidence also contradicted Atkins's version of an accidental shooting, showing the bullet had a downward trajectory through Parks's chest.
Brian Atkins Jr. was arrested and charged in connection with the death of Brian Parks. In September 2018, a McDuffie County Superior Court jury found Atkins guilty of felony murder. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison plus five years. Two other individuals who were present at the time of the shooting, Terry Thomas and Montavis Williams, were charged with and pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence for removing the gun and some bullets from the scene before police arrived. Atkins later appealed his conviction, but it was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Georgia in 2020.
