COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Chanel 2 Action News is hearing from the principal of a beloved Atlanta teacher killed in a Sandy Springs carjacking.
Police say 31-year-old Justin Hess stabbed Bill Haynes at a storage facility shortly after shooting his own mother to death at their home.
Haynes taught music to all 800 students at E. Rivers Elementary School. The principal says it's almost impossible to think about returning to school after the holidays without him here.
The man behind the music; the smiles and the camera. That's how those who knew Haynes say they will remember him.
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E. Rivers Elementary Principal Matt Rogers tells Channel 2’s Ashley Swann Haynes touched thousands of students throughout Georgia in his nearly 30-year career as an educator.
"He wrote a lot of music and did marching band routines for colleges and high schools all over,” Rogers said. "Communicating that to kids is going to be hard because I'm 44 and I’m struggling to make sense of a senseless death."
Instead, Rogers says he's focusing on the joy Haynes brought to the world.
“The gift of music,” Rogers said. “The gift of drama. And the power that that can create in our lives for happiness and joy -- that's what he would want."
And the young voices he inspired that will be heard for many years to come.
The principal tells Swann they will have grief counselors on hand when classes resume in the new year.
They're also planning a large service to celebrate Haynes' life that will be held at the school.