LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A Gwinnett County man accused of killing his ex-wife’s divorce attorney and setting his office building on fire pleaded guilty Wednesday, according to the Gwinnett County District Attorney.
Channel 2′s Matt Johnson reported on this incident back in December 2022. Lawrenceville officials responded to a fire on Stone Mountain Street.
After crews put the fire out, they found the body of attorney Douglas Lewis inside the building.
Officials say they saw Tayeh walking a short distance from the scene. His eyebrows and hair were singed, and he was burned on his hands, legs, and face. He had a .38 revolver with 5 fired casings on his person., and his truck was parked in the driveway of the incident location next to Douglas Lewis’s truck.
Police obtained warrants for murder and arson charges against Tayeh.
Court documents showed that Lewis represented Tayeh’s ex-wife in their divorce proceedings.
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Investigators located civil court filings indicating that the defendant was ordered to pay attorney’s fees to Lewis. The defendant had not paid the fees as ordered, and the judge assigned to the divorce had issued notice to return to court for contempt of court hearings based on the failure to pay those fees.
The grand jury indicted the defendant on malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, burglary, arson, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, criminal attempt to conceal a death, and tampering with evidence on February 22, 2023.
On Wednesday, the defendant entered a guilty plea to all counts in the indictment and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, plus a consecutive five years to serve.
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