With his shoulder-length hair unruly and wearing a navy prison suit, the man accused of killing two Roswell teenagers behind a grocery store made at his first court appearance Friday morning.
Jeffrey Hazelwood shook uncontrollably, sometimes looked into the air and appeared to be mumbling to himself. But neither police nor his attorney would discuss Hazelwood’s actions in the courtroom. The 20-year-old is charged with two counts of murder, aggravated assault, theft, ID fraud and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection to the deaths of Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis.
Hazelwood will remain in the Fulton County jail until Aug. 19, when his preliminary hearing is scheduled. His attorney, Lawrence Zimmerman, spoke briefly to reporters after the hearing, but declined to discuss any specifics of the case.
“We’re going to investigate and work hard to help this gentleman,” Zimmerman said. “It’s a sad story. Two young people are dead and a young man is charged. We’ll know more as this goes on.”
Hazelwood was wearing what appeared to be a wedding band in the courtroom Friday. Hazelwood’s social media postings include pictures of a girlfriend, but there is no mention that the two were married.
Natalie and Carter, both 17, were found dead around 6 a.m. Monday behind the King Plaza Publix on Woodstock Road, according to Roswell police. Both had been shot once in the head.
Within 48 hours, investigators were closing in on their suspect, police Chief Rusty Grant said. Cell phone technology placed Hazelwood both at the scene of the crime and at a nearby gas station, where the suspect allegedly used a bank card belonging to Natalie, Grant said.
Hazelwood was arrested at 5:37 a.m. Wednesday, a police report released Friday states. He was questioned by Roswell police and held overnight at the city’s detention center before being booked into the Fulton County jail late Thursday.
— Please return for updates.
— Staff writer John Spink contributed to this report.
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