One of the men charged with murder in the quadruple shooting at a Henry County home Thursday had been there earlier in the evening and returned to rob people, according to police.
Henry County authorities said Jacob Cole Kosky, 22, of McDonough, pulled the trigger during the shooting that left three dead and another critically injured, according to the arrest warrant obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Police also charged another McDonough resident, Matthew Baker Jr., 19, with murder, saying he aided and abetted Kosky by “holding one of the firearms used in said crimes for Jacob Kosky and then giving said firearm to Jacob Kosky that he then used in said aggravated assaults.” The report goes on to say Baker also helped Kosky leave the scene at the home on Moccasin Gap Road, a rural stretch of McDonough.
Both men face three counts of murder, four counts of aggravated assault. In addition, Kosky is charged with one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Both men, shackled and in jail jumpsuits, asked for court-appointed attorneys during their first appearance hearing Friday in Henry County Magistrate Court. Their preliminary hearing was rescheduled for Nov. 21 at 2 p.m.
The fatally wounded victims were identified as Matthew Hicks, 18, of McDonough, Keith Gibson, 29, of Covington and Sophia Bullard, 20 of Thomason. The fourth shooting victim, Destiny Olinger - also in her 20’s - was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital where she was in critical condition.
Three other people were charged with obstructing the police investigation. They were: Kayla Head, 21, of McDonough; Brooke Knight, 19 and Jacob Tillman Williams, 18, both of Locust Grove.
The shooting occurred after a group of friends had gathered for a bonfire at the home of Destiny Olinger’s grandparents who were on vacation.
Sometime after 2 a.m., a woman at the home made a frantic 911 call telling authorities about a possible home invasion.
Police arrived to find four people who had been shot in the head at close range in the living room.
“I want answers. Why did they take my son’s life?” Lisa Gibson, mother of Keith Gibson, told Channel 2 Action News Friday. “I hope they’re punished to the max.”
Gibson told The AJC her son went to the home with an unidentified friend who survived the shooting by hiding under a bed.
Channel 2 reported that there was a dispute at the home earlier in the evening Wednesday. The shooter left and came back later with a gun and began shooting people.
Gibson, who was on her way to a candlelight vigil for her son Friday night in Covington, said her son was “a lovable, caring person. He met no strangers. He loved to fish.”
Her son leaves behind a seven-year-old son and three-year-old daughter. He worked on the assembly line at SGD Glass, a perfume bottlemaker in Covington.
Around noon Thursday, police apprehended Baker during a felony traffic stop at his home, a few miles from the scene of the shooting, authorities said.
Kosky called 911 to turn himself in, police said.
Authorities said they received numerous calls and visits from people who came in to tell them what they knew.
By late Thursday, families of the victims had been notified and a total of five people had been arrested.
All five people charged in the crime are unemployed, according to police documents.
“I have no idea what took place over there,” Charles Knight, Brooke Knight’s father, said Friday.”She’s talking to her lawyer.” Brooke was issued a $750 bond Friday by Magistrate Judge Robert Godwin.
Family members of the other suspects declined to comment or couldn’t be reached. Head and Williams got out of jail early Friday morning, each on $1,100 bonds.
Kosky and Baker have been in trouble with the law before.
Kosky’s run-ins date to 2011. His charges have included shoplifting, probation violation, marijuana possession, driving without a license, obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct.
Baker was arrested twice this year for shoplifting and once for obstruction of an officer, a misdemeanor.
Authorities said that the people at the bonfire gathering late Wednesday all knew each other. Some were long-time friends. Others were merely acquaintances.
People aware of the shooting took to social media sending out prayers and well-wishes for the victims, especially Destiny Olinger who remained at Grady Friday. Updates of her condition were unavailable.
Olinger’s Facebook page lists her as a veterinarian’s assistant at the McDonough Animal Hospital, which declined to comment Friday.
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