Jury convicts man in Lawrenceville slaying, arson
A 41-year-old Suwanee man was found guilty this week of shooting his live-in girlfriend and setting fire to her house in Lawrenceville.
A Gwinnett County jury on Thursday convicted David Robert Norton on charges of murder and first-degree arson in the Oct. 30, 2007 slaying of Amy Lee Ayer, 43.
When questioned by investigators, Norton admitted he argued with Ayers the morning of the slaying after her sons left for school. However, he claimed the shooting was an accident. Norton told detectives that he and Ayers were struggling over a shotgun that she retrieved from a closet when the weapon fired and struck her in the head. Prosecutors said that Norton shot his girlfriend intentionally and set fire to the home in an attempt to conceal the crime.
