Death penalty sought for Polk officer’s alleged killer, accomplice
On Monday, Trish Brewer was in the courtroom watching as her daughter’s alleged killer and a female accomplice learned they could face the death penalty if convicted.
While Brewer applauded the decision, there would be little time for reflection. After court she headed to Victory Baptist Church in Rockmart to greet visitors mourning the death of her only daughter, a 29-year-old Polk County police detective, wife and mother.
On Tuesday, Kristen Hearne will be laid to rest, leaving behind a devastated family and a community struggling for answers.
“She was our hero,” Brewer said.
According to the GBI, Seth Spangler, 31, pulled out a gun and shot Hearne and another officer at close range late Friday morning on a dirt road off Ga. 100, roughly 70 miles northwest of Atlanta.
Hearne died shortly thereafter; the other officer, David Goodrich, was wearing a bulletproof vest and survived unscathed.
The officers were questioning Spangler and 22-year-old Samantha Roof about a stolen vehicle out of Tennessee. The two suspects took off running — Roof was apprehended soon after while Spangler emerged from some nearby woods about three hours later, naked and caked in mud.
They made their first court appearance Monday, when Jack Browning, District Attorney for the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit, announced his intention to seek the death penalty if indictments are secured next month.
Spangler — charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, felony obstruction, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and theft by receiving — avoided eye contact and spoke softly. He told the judge he had a ninth-grade education.
He also has a long rap sheet, mostly for drugs, including a methamphetamine possession charge in 2015 in Georgia. At the time of his arrest Friday, Spangler had an outstanding warrant from Walker County for violating his probation.
Roof faces the same charges as Spangler, with the exception of the weapons violation.
A third man, Michael Anthony Fossett Jr., 28, was also in court Monday, charged with hindering the apprehension of a criminal and methamphetamine possession. Browning said Fossett was tied to the case involving Hearne’s alleged killers but did not elaborate.
Hearne’s funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Victory Baptist.
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.
