Update: All criminal charges against Keith Sylvester in his parents’ deaths were dropped by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and he was released from custody in March 2020. Sylvester’s civil lawsuit against the detective who sought his arrest is pending in federal court.
Nearly six months after police said a husband and wife were strangled and left in a burning Atlanta home, the woman’s son has been arrested and charged with murder.
Keith Sylvester, 47, was arrested Saturday and taken to the Fulton County Jail, Atlanta police confirmed to AJC.com.
He was charged with two counts of murder in connection with the brutal July 3 deaths of Harry and Deborah Hubbard, a couple in their 60s who lived in a home on Harvel Drive in northwest Atlanta.
Sylvester waived his first court appearance Monday morning. No bond was set. His next scheduled court appearance is Jan. 14.
Authorities said at the time they believe the Hubbards were strangled to death before the fire. They were found badly burned and covered in debris.
According to the Buffalo, N.Y., NBC affiliate station, Sylvester is the oldest son of Deborah Hubbard, 65, who moved from Buffalo to Atlanta with her husband, 67, less than a year before their deaths.
Roughly 12 hours after the bodies were discovered in the charred home, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the deaths a homicide.
Atlanta police said evidence collection was difficult because more than 50 percent of the residence was destroyed in the fire.
Police did not provide any additional information about the investigation or what led them to arrest Sylvester.
In other news:
About the Author
