In the hours after two teenagers were found dead behind a Roswell Publix store, investigators watched surveillance footage for clues. They could see images of a suspect, but more importantly, they could see his vehicle.
It was a silver Honda Passport of Isuzu Rodeo, and police knew it belonged to the double-murder suspect, but the tag number wasn’t visible. With the help of the GBI, investigators found every similar vehicle owned in Fulton and Cobb counties, according to court documents filed this week. After sorting through data on more than 600 similar SUVs and looking at driver’s license photos, investigators identified their suspect: Jeffrey Andrew Hazelwood.
“It is a tool that has been used for years,” GBI spokesman Scott Dutton said Friday. “It works really well when you have not really much to go on to isolate basically geographically or if you can narrow down to year models of vehicles, it’ll help.”
Hazelwood is accused of shooting and killing Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis, both 17, in the early-morning hours Aug. 1, according to police. After watching the teenagers for about 20 minutes, Hazelwood told police he opened the back door of Henderson's SUV with one hand while holding a gun with the other. Within minutes, Hazelwood shot both teens in the head, police said.
After the shootings, Hazelwood left the scene and then returned to steal Henderson’s bank card, which he later used, and jumper cables belonging to Davis, according to police. Within 48 hours, Hazelwood was taken into custody and charged with two counts of murder.
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