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Suspected
serial killer faces death penalty in Fulton case
Belcher convicted of murdering gay man, faces charges in
other cases
By Matthew A. Hennie - SouthernVoice.com
January 15, 2005
A convicted murderer said he wanted to die during a brief
hearing Monday that marked his first appearance in a Fulton County
courtroom since being charged in November for his alleged role in the
slaying of a gay Midtown man.
Howard Milton Belcher, 26, is charged with murder in the
Oct. 5, 2002, death of Mark Schaller, a 40-year-old gay man who lived in
an upscale Midtown condominium. Fulton County prosecutors said in
November they decided against seeking the death penalty for Belcher.
But during a 10-minute hearing Monday, Assistant District
Attorney Anna Green served Belcher with notice that prosecutors intend
to pursue the death penalty, calling Belcher’s alleged role in
Schaller’s death “outrageously or wantonly vile.”
When Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore
asked Belcher if he accepted his two court-appointed attorneys, he
surprised court observes by thanking Moore for the death penalty and
asking to die.
“I’d like to thank the court for giving me the death
penalty,” Belcher said. “I’d like to thank the Fulton County District
Attorney, Mr. Paul Howard.”
Moore interrupted, telling Belcher he has yet to face
trial on charges in the death of Schaller, including felony murder,
murder, aggravated assault and theft by taking. The hearing on Monday
marked Belcher’s first appearance in court since being formally charged
Nov. 9.
“I want the death penalty,” Belcher continued. “I don’t
have anything to talk about. I want the death penalty. I really don’t
want anyone to represent me.”
Belcher’s attorneys could not be reached for comment this week.
Prosecutors called Belcher a serial killer after his
indictment in November.
A Paulding County judge sentenced Belcher to life in
prison plus 20 years last June for the Oct. 10, 2002, murder of Matthew
Abney, 45, a gay assistant manager for Wal-Mart.
Belcher is also charged with murder in the death of Leroy
Tyler, a 27-year-old gay man found in his Clarkston apartment on Oct. 5,
2002. Belcher is also a suspect in the Oct. 28, 2002, death of Artilles
McKinney, a 35-year-old gay Duluth man.
Belcher allegedly went on a killing spree in October
2002, meeting victims at or near Bulldogs, a Peachtree Street gay bar,
according to authorities. After his arrest, Belcher described himself as
an HIV-positive prostitute, according to the Atlanta Police Department.
He told detectives that he frequented Bulldogs and the area around the
bar to meet tricks.
Belcher was arrested Oct. 30, 2002, when police in
College Park stopped Belcher while he was driving a 1994 Lexus. Police
discovered the car’s owner, McKinney, dead in his townhouse a day
earlier. Forensic evidence later proved inconclusive and has kept
authorities from charging Belcher in the slaying, authorities have said.
On Monday, prosecutors said they will try to introduce
evidence in the trial to show that Belcher used the same methods to
allegedly kill other gay men in metro Atlanta. In a trial last June in
Paulding County, prosecutors attempted the same legal maneuver — called
“similar transactions” — by suggesting Belcher killed three other gay
men.
A judge rebuffed the move to introduce evidence linking
Belcher to the slayings of Tyler in DeKalb and McKinney in Gwinnett, but
allowed links to Schaller’s homicide in Atlanta. Tom Melanson, an
assistant district attorney in Paulding, said that strengthened his
case, which ended with Belcher receiving a sentence of life in prison
plus 20 years for murdering Abney.
Fulton prosecutors are hoping to find similar success
when the case reaches trial, which could take up to a year, according to
David Cooke, an assistant district attorney.
“They are of a very similar nature,” Cooke said Monday.
In the Paulding slaying, Belcher and Abney had sex before
Belcher strangled him and took jewelry and his car. Abney’s hands were
bound with a necktie, he was partially dressed, and a gas oven was left
on.
Schaller was found partially nude with his hands bound by
a necktie and died of blunt force injury to the neck, police said. A gas
oven in his condo was also turned on.
Tyler was strangled with his hands tied, police said.
Convicted killer formally
charged with death of gay man
Authorities say ‘serial killer’ strangled victim,
turned on gas oven
By
Matthew A. Hennie - SouthernVoice.com
November 12, 2004
A man authorities call a serial killer was indicted Tuesday in the two-year-old
slaying of a gay Atlanta man in his Midtown home and faces charges in
another similar homicide.
Howard Milton Belcher, 26, was formally charged with
the Oct. 5, 2002, death of Mark Schaller, a 40-year-old gay man who
lived in an upscale condo on Dutch Valley Road off Monroe Drive. In June,
Belcher was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years for the murder of
a gay Paulding County man on Oct. 10, 2002.
“We would characterize Belcher as a serial killer,”
said Erik Friedly, public affairs director for the Fulton County
District Attorney. “He’s suspected in a number of murders.”
Robbery apparently motivated Belcher during an
alleged killing spree in October 2002, a month-long affair that started
with meeting victims at or near Bulldogs, a Peachtree Street gay bar
popular among African-American men, according to authorities.
Belcher also faces murder charges in the death of
Leroy Tyler, a 27-year-old gay man found in his Clarkston apartment Oct.
5, 2002. Belcher is a suspect in the Oct. 28 death of Artilles McKinney,
a 35-year-old gay Duluth man, authorities said.
Fulton prosecutors decided against seeking the death
penalty against Belcher for his alleged role in the Schaller slaying,
and instead are pursuing a sentence of life in prison without the
possibility of parole, Friedly said.
Belcher described himself as an HIV-positive
prostitute during interviews with the Atlanta Police Department,
according to Det. Vincent Velazquez. He frequented Bulldogs and the area
around the bar to meet tricks, Velazquez added.
Belcher’s arrest unfolded Oct. 30, 2002, when police
in College Park stopped Belcher while he was driving a 1994 Lexus.
Police discovered the car’s owner, Artilles McKinney, dead in his
townhouse a day earlier. Authorities have said Belcher and McKinney met
Oct. 28 a few blocks from Bulldogs and later traveled to McKinney’s home.
Forensic evidence later proved inconclusive and has
kept authorities from charging Belcher in McKinney’s death, authorities
said.
But as the case against Belcher expanded after his
arrest, investigators sought possible links between him and other
unsolved homicides. Prosecutors in Paulding County were the first to
press formal charges against Belcher, who faced a six-day trial last
June for the death of Matthew Abney, 45, a gay assistant manager for Wal-Mart.
Belcher told investigators he met Abney at Bulldogs
and the pair traveled to Abney’s home, according to Tom Melanson, a
Paulding County assistant district attorney.
The pair had sex before Belcher strangled him and
took jewelry and his car. Abney’s hands were bound with a necktie, he
was partially dressed, and a gas oven was left on, Melanson said.
In a letter to investigators, Belcher said Abney died
while the two men had sex; during trial, Belcher said a third man was in
the home and killed Abney, Melanson said.
“We argued that [Belcher] turned the burners on so
that it would blow the place up and destroy evidence,” Melanson said.
“It appeared to be a signature — like his calling card.”
Schaller was found partially nude with his hands
bound by a necktie and died of blunt force injury to the neck. A gas
oven in his condo was also turned on and his cell phone and wallet were
reported missing, police said. Velazquez said Schaller and Belcher
apparently met near Bulldogs.
Belcher also faces charges in the Feb. 24, 2002
robbery and kidnapping of two Atlanta men who were found with their
hands bound by neckties, authorities said.
DeKalb County authorities charged Belcher with
Tyler’s death last July. Tyler was found Oct. 5, 2002, after being
strangled with his hands tied. Police discovered Tyler’s body in his
Clarkston apartment bedroom under a comforter. His car was taken and the
stove was turned on, authorities said.
Howard Belcher (center), flanked by attorneys
Robert Citronberg (left) and
Akil Secret, told a judge that
he wanted to die. (Photo by R.O. Youngblood)
