In the early morning hours of August 6, 2015, a grim discovery was made in Powder Springs, Georgia, when a passerby noticed a car that had come to rest in a ditch. Inside the vehicle were 24-year-old Anthony Joseph Costner and his 22-year-old wife, Catherine. Anthony had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, while Catherine, who had been shot at least once, was rushed to a nearby hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries. Miraculously, the couple's three-year-old daughter, who was also in the car, was found physically unharmed.
The investigation into the double homicide quickly revealed that the incident was not a random act of violence. Police determined that the Costners had arranged to meet with a man named Roy Hicks, who was 39 at the time. Evidence suggested that the meeting was related to a drug transaction. Investigators believe that during this meeting, an altercation occurred which resulted in the fatal shootings. The crime was not a simple robbery gone wrong, but a prearranged meeting that ended in tragedy.
Within days, law enforcement made their first arrest. Roy Hicks of Smyrna was taken into custody on August 8 and was later charged with murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a felon, and cruelty to a child, as he is suspected of being the one who fired the fatal shots. Adding a strange twist to the case, Hicks was recovering from a gunshot wound himself, which authorities believe he sustained during the commission of the crimes against the Costners.
Further investigation led to the arrests of two other individuals in connection with the murders. Demarco Thomas, who was 22, was apprehended and faced charges of conspiracy to violate the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, concealing the death of another, and hindering the apprehension of a felon. A third suspect, Raymond Ladell Webb, was also taken into custody. Webb was charged with concealing a death, hindering the apprehension of a criminal, and a felony drug charge for allegedly arranging the drug deal that led to the deadly encounter.
