Investigators said they believe two people were killed by a family member inside a Lilburn home, the city’s police department said. But their bodies were found at two different crime scenes in Gwinnett County.
The suspect was arrested about 30 miles from Lilburn and charged with murder, Capt. Scott Bennett said. While the case remains under investigation, Bennett said the deaths were domestic in nature and the public is not in danger.
In each of the past two years, Lilburn police have investigated one homicide. It’s been more than 20 years since the city had a double homicide, Bennett confirmed.
In the latest case, the names of the victims and suspect have not been released pending notification of out-of-state family members, police said. The investigation began Sunday evening as a wellness check.
Around 5:30 p.m., Lilburn officers went to a home at the request of a caller from out of state, Bennett said. What began as a missing person investigation became a possible homicide Monday, he said.
“Lilburn investigators worked through the night into Tuesday throughout the metro Atlanta area obtaining evidence, following leads and conducting interviews,” Bennett said. “Their efforts resulted in locating two separate crime scenes Tuesday evening within Gwinnett County and the recovery and identification of two bodies.”
The suspect was being held Wednesday in the Gwinnett jail. Gwinnett and Duluth police assisted with the investigation.
The last time Lilburn detectives investigated a double homicide was Dec. 29, 2004. That’s when Khanh Dinh Phan killed his friend Hung Thai, 37, and Thai’s 2-year-old son, Hugh, over a gambling debt.
Prosecutors sought the death penalty against Phan. But in January 2013, the 49-year-old pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences. Phan is serving his time at Dooly State Prison in Unadilla.
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