Notorious East Atlanta murder remains unsolved
Almost five years later, the fatal shooting of Patrick Cotrona, a 33-year-old Georgia Tech graduate killed as he was walking with two friends to a bar in East Atlanta Village, still resonates.
“Patrick had never been in trouble his entire life,” said Atlanta Police Det. Scott DeMeester, the lead investigator in the case. “It is very frustrating that someone got shot and killed over two cell phones and a debit card.”
Police linked at least two other robberies to Cotrona’s shooting. They occurred, just a few miles away and a few minutes earlier, in Kirkwood. No one was hurt in the those interactions, but a gun was fired, providing investigators with potentially critical evidence.
Otherwise, clues were scarce.
“No physical evidence, no DNA, no fingerprints,” DeMeester said. “All we have is two shell casings.”
For the complete story, including reaction from friends and family and more details from police, visit myajc.com.
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About the Author
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
