Court upholds mutilation murder conviction

The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction against a DeKalb County man who killed his roommate and then mutilated the body and set it on fire.

Renato Adel was previously convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the May 2007 murder of 54-year-old Mesfin Asfaw, whose dismembered, charred body was found by schoolchildren waiting to catch a bus near Lithonia High School. In an opinion published Monday, the court noted that evidence found inside the men's apartment and in the dumpster outside supported the conviction.

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Bill Rankin

Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.

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