Teen: Killing mom was ‘adrenaline rush’

A Sandy Springs teenager accused of gunning down his mother told police he it was an “adrenaline rush” and described himself as a “psychotic killer.”

Alexander Ezekiel Cordell, 18, stunned investigators when he laughed and chuckled about the June 2 killing of Shani Fecht, 40, said Detective Frank Trammer of Sandy Springs Police Department.

Alexander E. Cordell

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“He told me he murdered his mother,” Trammer testified Wednesday at a probable cause hearing for Cordell in Fulton County. “He fired at her nine times and emptied the entire weapon into the vehicle until he was satisfied she was deceased.”

Cordell told police he went to meet Fecht as she drove up to the entrance of his apartment complex. He recalled his mother greeting him “hey, how’s it going.” He told Fecht to hang on while he went to his Jeep to grab the apartment gate access card, Trammer said.

Cordell returned with a rifle. He told police that he smirked at his mother, told her “that was a lie,” and opened fire.

A rifle was found in Cordell’s Jeep when police arrested him at a nearby shopping center eight hours later. A receipt found in his apartment showed Cordell purchased the rifle five days prior.

Trammer said the teenager offered several baffling motives for the killing. Cordell, a high-school dropout with a GED, said he was dissatisfied with himself and his prospects for success. He also said he had grown tired of Fecht calling him to express concerns about his future.

Other explanations were that she wasn’t a good role model, that she may have done some nude modeling back when he was young, and that she may have smoked some marijuana recently, Trammer said.

Cordell’s attorney, Elizabeth Markowitz of the Fulton County Public Defender’s Office, told the court “clearly there is a trigger going on here” and asked the detective about a possible mental health issue. However, Trammer said there was no history of mental illness with Cordell or his family.