A Henry County Grand Jury indicted two McDonough men Tuesday on charges they shot and killed four people at a bonfire and house party last October.
Jacob Cole Kosky, 23, was indicted on four counts of malice murder, eight counts of felony murder, four counts of aggravated assault, one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of felony theft by taking.
Matthew Baker Jr., 19, was indicted on four counts of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, four counts of aggravated assault, and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
“I can’t speak to the specifics in the case but we indicted the two people who we believe were directly responsible for the deaths of the four people in the house,” said Darius Pattillo, Henry’s new District Attorney.
When asked whether he would be trying the case, Pattillo replied: “The decision hasn’t been made yet but that’s a possibility.”
Kosky and Baker remain in the Henry County jail. A trial date has not been set yet.
The case shocked the community, a remote part of Henry unused to multiple killings at one time.
On Oct. 26, Kosky and Baker attended a party and bonfire at a home on Moccasin Gap Road in south Henry County. The men left the home at one point during the party. They returned with guns and began firing. Four people were shot.
Three were found dead inside the home in the early hours of Oct. 27. The dead were identified as Matthew Hicks, 18, of McDonough; Keith Gibson, 29, of Covington and Sophia Bullard, 20, of Thomaston. The victims were shot in the head, according to the criminal warrant. The fourth victim, 20-year-old Destiny Olinger, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital where she died two days later. The shooting occurred at the home of Olinger’s grandparents.
Police recovered a gun used in the shooting. It was found near a bridge in nearby Newton County.
The group that had gathered at the home for the bonfire all knew each other, with some relationships going back a long time, authorities said.
Three other people at the party - Jacob Williams, 18, of McDonough, Kayla Head, 21, of McDonough and Brooke Knight, 19, of Locust Grove - were charged with misdemeanor obstruction for accused of not cooperating with police. They remain under investigation.
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