A man charged with stabbing his half-brother to death while he slept in his bed has been indicted by a Coweta County grand jury, court documents show.
Zachary Lamar Martin has remained in the Coweta jail since he was first accused of killing his half-sibling, Sheldon Odell Stewart, on Aug. 1.
Martin was standing in the bedroom holding two knives when Newnan police arrived at the house on Linden Drive in Newnan just after 3:30 a.m., spokeswoman Ashley Copeland said after the incident. Stewart was lying on the bed and appeared to have been stabbed twice in the back.
Newnan investigators said Martin entered the home through a basement window in the back of the residence.
RELATED: Man sneaks into house, stabs sleeping brother to death, police say
A man was sleeping in the basement at the time, Copeland said. Martin got zip ties from a tool bag near the window and tied him up, according to police.
Then, he got two knives, headed upstairs and came across a woman watching TV in the living room, Copeland said. Investigators said he forced her to go downstairs at knifepoint.
Somehow, the man who had been tied up in the basement got free and ran to a nearby bathroom, according to police. Martin allegedly chased him and started stabbing the bathroom door “in an attempt to assault him,” Copeland said. When Martin couldn’t get into the bathroom, he ran upstairs into the bedroom where Stewart and his girlfriend were asleep.
Copeland said Martin crawled over the girlfriend and started stabbing his sleeping half-brother. Then, he turned and choked the girlfriend and held a knife to her throat, according to police.
The other people in the house heard the girlfriend screaming and ran into the room to pull Martin off her, Copeland said. The girlfriend then got a cellphone and called police.
Stewart was taken to a hospital, where he died of his injuries.
Police said Stewart’s girlfriend was previously in a relationship with Martin. The couple dated for more than two years and had broken up within the past two months, officials said.
Martin faces several charges, including murder, first-degree home invasion, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, armed robbery and third-degree cruelty to children, court records show.
In other news:
About the Author
