Atlanta Journal-Constitution readers would be familiar with the cases featured on A&E's "The First 48: Homicide Squad Atlanta." The true-crime documentary series follows detectives at the Atlanta Police Department as they work to solve the murder of Bridget Shiel, plus other cases.
The series, a spin-off of the popular "The First 48," ran for six episodes in early 2019. Each episode followed APD detectives as they wrapped up a murder investigation while also advancing the two-year-long search for Shiel's killer.
Andrew Lowe was the lead detective in the Shiel investigation and is the center of the show. Retired detectives David Quinn and Vince Velazquez, who were recently the focus of TV One's "ATL Homicide," also feature prominently on A&E's program.
Here's a rundown of the cases featured on "Homicide Squad Atlanta" and how they were covered by the AJC:
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Episode 1 ("Fallen Angel"): The first episode is given entirely to the case of Bridget Shiel, a 19-year-old who was found naked and shot to death in Oakland City Park in southwest Atlanta on May 31, 2016. In 2018, Christopher Spencer, a convicted killer serving time for other murders, was arrested for Shiel's murder on the basis of what detectives say is matching DNA evidence. His trial is pending. Here are highlights from the AJC's coverage of the case:
- May 31, 2016: Dead, naked woman found in Atlanta park
- June 1, 2016: Police find car of woman found shot to death, nude in park
- June 11, 2016: Police looking for men seen with woman later found dead in park
- May 31, 2018: Cops: Man who killed woman, left her naked in park is responsible for 5 deaths
- June 8, 2018: Inside the alleged DeKalb gang killing spree that took five lives
Episode 2 ("Dark Staircase"): Misha Moore was fatally shot at the bottom of a stairwell at Underground Atlanta on Jan. 10, 2017. Surveillance footage showed her last moments and connected her to Felix Shirley, a construction worker who was later convicted of killing her.
Episode 3 ("The Jealous Kind"): Sixteen-year-old Keosha Tinch was in the back seat of an SUV in a gated community when a person opened fire on the car on Feb. 2, 2017. One bullet struck her in the head. The lead suspect Dwight Lewis was arrested in Detroit six months later after spending time on Atlanta's "most wanted" list.
- Feb. 2, 2017: Teenager killed in shootout at apartment complex
- Feb. 8, 2017: Teen was killed a week before birthday; suspect sought
- Aug. 3, 2017: 6 months later, suspect arrested in teen's shooting death
Episode 4 ("Secrets & Lies"): Surveillance footage captured the shooting death of Derrick Dukes a the "Disco Kroger" parking lot in Buckhead on June 1, 2017. Police arrested Kristy Forrester and Robert Scott in connection with the killing.
Episode 5 ("Hot Sun, Cold Blood"): The body of Lee Morris Johnson was found in a vacant lot in Old Fourth Ward sometime around April 20, 2001. The case remained cold for 16 years until a DNA match led detectives to California, where they interviewed two suspects. Craig Beal was extradicted to Atlanta and charged with murder. He is awaiting trial. The AJC did not report on the arrest but noted when Johnson's body was discovered in 2001.
Episode 6 ("The Cooler"): Markeith Oliver, 18, was selling water at a gas station in southwest Atlanta when he got into an argument with two men, one of whom fatally shot him. Witnesses identified the two men as twin brothers, one of whom—18-year-old Garrison Carreker—was arrested and charged with the murder.
- July 7, 2017: Teenager shot, killed in SW Atlanta
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