Man gets life in prison for stomping, killing man over social security check

A 30-year-old was convicted of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and burglary.

A 30-year-old was convicted of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and burglary.

A 30-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison for brutally murdering his aunt’s fiance in 2016 — and then repeatedly bragging about it from jail — Fulton County prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Joshua Price was convicted of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and burglary, the Fulton County District Attorney's office said in a statement.

Price killed 56-year-old Roger Horton by stomping on him and striking him with an iron fireplace tool, the statement said. Price later boasted about the attack on numerous jail calls, saying, “I snatched that (expletive) door open and beat that (expletive) to (expletive) sleep. I stomped that (expletive) to sleep,” according to prosecutors.

He was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years.

Earlier that day, Price called his aunt to retrieve his social security check. His aunt raised him from birth and kept track of his social security funds.

She told him that she was going to run errands, and that she would call him back later. But instead, the DA’s office said, Price went straight to her home on Indale Place in southwest Atlanta. He was not allowed inside because “he had previously acted aggressively toward her fiance,” the DA’s office said.

“Horton, the victim, would not allow the defendant to enter the home,” the statement said. “This enraged the defendant and he yelled at Horton to let him inside and to give him his money.”

Price eventually made it inside and “immediately” attacked Horton, killing him. Neighbors could hear items crashing and furniture moving, prosecutors said.

Price was found at a nearby gas station with Horton’s blood on his socks, shoes and pants.

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