Spa shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long mug shot
Caption

March 16, 2021 booking photo provided by the Crisp County, Ga., Sheriff's Office shows Robert Aaron Long. He is accused of killing eight people at three Atlanta-area massage businesses.

Credit: Crisp County Sheriff's Office via AP

A Georgia man accused of killing eight people at three Atlanta-area massage businesses pleaded guilty to four of the murders in a Cherokee County courtroom on Tuesday. 

Robert Aaron Long agreed to a plea deal and was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences, plus 35 years, without the possibility of parole in the first four shooting deaths in Cherokee County.

Long still faces execution if convicted of murdering four people at two spas in Atlanta, where prosecutors charged him with domestic terrorism and a hate crime enhancement in addition to murder. District Attorney Fani Willis says she will seek the death penalty for the 22-year-old suspect. 

Long is white and six of the victims were women of Asian descent. The prosecutor in Cherokee County said investigators didn't find evidence justifying a hate crime charge.