The DeKalb County District Attorney said Tuesday he will seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing a 19-year-old woman at a bus stop.
Christopher Oliver Merritt, 19, of Lithonia, is accused of killing Marcaysia Dawkins, a 2014 Lithonia High School graduate, on Nov. 23 as she waited for her MARTA bus on Fairington Road, according to police. She had planned to go to the gym, her family said.
Merritt attempted to steal Dawkins’ handbag, and during a struggle, he fatally shot her twice with a 9mm handgun, investigators said. Merritt allegedly left with Dawkins’ belongings, but was arrested later that week. Video surveillance footage from a nearby business captured the shooting.
In February, a grand jury indicted Merritt on multiple counts of murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony. He remained Tuesday night in the DeKalb County jail, where he was being held without bond, records showed.
Dawkins had planned to join the Navy and was getting herself physically fit for the challenge, her family said when she was killed. In the meantime, she was working at a daycare center.
Investigators do not believe Dawkins knew Merritt, who is also suspected in unrelated sexual assault cases.
On Tuesday, DA Robert Jones formally filed a notice to seek the death penalty against Merritt, a spokesman for the DA’s office said.
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