Hit man convicted in woman's murder
A Fulton County jury on Friday convicted a hit man of a brutal racially-motivated killing in 2000.
Cleveland Clark was found guilty in the murder of 22-year-old Union City mother Sparkle Rai. Jurors will decide whether he will receive the death penalty.
Clark strangled and stabbed Rai to death in front of her crying infant on April 26, 2000, authorities said.
Clark was hired by Rai's father-in-law, Chiman Rai, to kill the young woman.
Chiman Rai, 68, a native of India, didn't want his son married to an African-American woman, prosecutors said.
The elder Rai was convicted exactly a year ago Friday of conspiring to kill his son's wife, and was sentenced to life without parole.
Sparkle had only been married for a month to Rajeeve "Ricky" Rai when she was murdered.
Prosecutors say Rai paid $10,000 to have Sparkle killed. A business acquaintance, Herbert Green, teamed up with a friend, Willie Fred Evans. Evans reputedly recruited Clark.
Green and Evans agreed to testify for the prosecution in exchange for probation.
Sparkle's murder had gone unsolved for six years until witnesses came forward identifying Clark as the killer, court officials said.
