COLUMBUS – Police have found the suspect in the murder of a prominent resident of the University District in a Georgia hospital, where they say Michael Brooks II was recovering after he was shot twice during a home invasion.
WAGA-TV reports the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office said the 28-year-old Columbus man will face charges of home invasion, burglary and theft by receiving in Georgia and murder charges in Columbus upon his release from a hospital.
Brooks has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of 77-year-old Emily Foster in the 2000 block of Iuka Avenue on Sept. 9, Sgt. Michael Smith of the Columbus police Homicide Unit said.
Investigators were able to identify Brooks through forensic evidence collected at Foster’s home and obtained murder warrants for him on Wednesday. Despite all the physical evidence, police said a motive is still unclear though it appears Foster was killed during a home invasion similar to the incident in Georgia.
Investigators were able to tie Brooks to Foster’s slaying through a red Ford F-150 that was taken from Kettering, investigators said.
“We don’t know what the connection is with Georgia, or if there was a connection; however, he is from Columbus,” said Columbus Police Deputy Chief Smith Weir during a press conference on Friday.
Brooks had been released from the Franklin County Jail the night before the murder, police said. He had pleaded guilty to two counts of felony fleeing on aggravated assault charges. Police said he was released prior to sentencing in the case.
The Georgia shooting happened at about 2:00 a.m. Thursday after a man reported a possible intruder. Authorities say the home invasion appears to be random.
The homeowner, armed with a gun, confronted the intruder — who had a knife — in the basement, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies said the homeowner warned the intruder before shooting him. The homeowner then left the basement and took up a position on the second floor staircase to protect his family, investigators said.
“There, he took his stand as the subject made his way up to the second floor. (He) made the comment, something to the effect of, ‘You’re going to have to kill me.’ When the resident fired a second shot. That was about the time the deputies got there. From what we can tell, he was coming down the stairway with a second gunshot wound,” Fayette County, Ga., Sheriff Barry Babb said. “At that point, they actually still struggled with him (as they) took him into custody.”
Police say Brooks has an extensive criminal history, mostly around Columbus and its suburbs, but also along the I-75 corridor.