On April 1, 1999, the lives of Miriam Diane Hollis, a 46-year-old Delta Air Lines customer service agent, and her 19-year-old son, Brandon Jamal Hollis, were tragically cut short in a brutal series of events that began under the guise of an outing for target practice in Henry County, Georgia. The man responsible, Mustafa Askia Raheem, would later be brought to justice for the double homicide.
The harrowing ordeal began when Raheem, along with Michael Jenkins and Dione Feltus, picked up
Brandon Hollis. After dropping Feltus off at work, Raheem, who had earlier tested his. 380 caliber handgun to ensure its functionality, drove Brandon and Jenkins to a remote area. There, after firing a test shot, Raheem turned the weapon on Brandon Hollis, shooting him in the head. As Brandon lay dying, Raheem callously took his watch and keys.
Following the murder of her son, Raheem and Jenkins proceeded to Miriam Hollis's home. Using Brandon's key to gain entry, they confronted Miriam. Raheem fired a shot that missed before ordering the terrified woman to her hands and knees and fatally shooting her in the head. He then covered her head with a garbage bag, placed her body in the trunk of her own Lexus, and attempted to clean the blood from her carpet. The motive for this senseless act appeared to be a dispute over the Lexus, for which Raheem claimed to have paid Miriam $8,000 without receiving the vehicle.
Later that evening, Raheem brazenly drove the Lexus to visit his girlfriend, Veronica Gibbs, and showed her Miriam's body in the trunk. He, along with Jenkins and Gibbs, then returned to the Hollis residence to burglarize it. In the early hours of the morning, Raheem and Jenkins disposed of Miriam's body by taking it to a remote location near some train tracks, dousing it with a flammable liquid, and setting it on fire. A few days later, Raheem gave the murder weapon to a friend to hide, but it was later recovered by police in a sewer.
The investigation led police to Raheem after they interviewed his girlfriend, Veronica Gibbs. She confessed that Raheem had shown her the body and admitted to the killings. Based on this and other evidence, Mustafa Askia Raheem was arrested and indicted on two counts of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of armed robbery, and one count of burglary.
During his trial, Michael Jenkins testified against Raheem, providing a detailed account of the murders. Both Veronica Gibbs and Dione Feltus also testified that Raheem had confessed the murders to them. The jury found Raheem guilty on all counts. For the murder of Miriam Diane Hollis, he was sentenced to death. He received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Brandon Hollis, in addition to consecutive life sentences for armed robbery and a 20-year sentence for burglary. Raheem's subsequent appeals were denied.
