July 20 execution date set for Cobb killer DeYoung
The state Department of Corrections on Wednesday set a July 20 execution date for Cobb County killer Andrew Grant DeYoung.
DeYoung sits on death row for the slaying of his parents Gary and Kathy DeYoung, both 41, and his sister, Sarah, 14, in their northeast Cobb home in 1993. At the time, Andrew DeYoung was 19 and a straight-A business major at Kennesaw State College. During closing arguments at the trial, then-Cobb District Attorney Tom Charron called the stabbing deaths "a crime that shocked the conscience of the community."
The lethal injection, to be carried out July 20 at 7 p.m., was set after an execution warrant was signed by Cobb Superior Court Judge Dorothy Robinson, who presided over the 1995 trial.
DeYoung's victims were stabbed more than 40 times and their throats were slit, prosecutors said.
DeYoung's brother, Nathan, who was 16 at the time of the slayings, testified that he escaped through his bedroom window after being awakened by his sister's screams and finding that the phone line had been cut.
Prosecutors said DeYoung killed his family to collect life insurance and other assets to start a business. DeYoung intended to use nearly $1 million in insurance, retirement money and property he stood to inherit to finance a planned movie theater and teen entertainment complex, prosecutors said.
About the Author
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.
