Two of the four individuals indicted for the January 2021 murder of Bobby Kicklighter will appear in court for their first proceedings on Tuesday, September 6, 2022.
The ten charges filed against Christopher Sumlin are:
- Malice Murder
- Felony Murder
- Felony Murder
- Felony Murder
- Burglary in the first degree
- Aggravated Assault
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
- Possession of a firearm during commission of a felony
- Conspiracy to commit murder
- Conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (Georgia RICO Act)
Nathan Weekes will make his first appearance before the court regarding this case on Tuesday. Weekes was an inmate at Smith State Prison in Glennville when Kicklighter was murdered in his home. During this time, he conspired through text messages with Sumlin and two others to carry out this murder for hire plot.
The nine charges filed against Weekes are:
- Malice Murder
- Felony Murder
- Felony Murder
- Felony Murder
- Burglary in the first degree
- Aggravated Assault
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
- Conspiracy to commit murder
- Conspiracy to violate the Georgia RICO Act
Sumlin, Weekes, and two other defendants, Keisha Jones and Aerial Murphy, were indicted in April 2022 for the murder of Kicklighter, who was 88 years old. These four intended to kill a correctional officer from Smith State Prison on the night of January 30, 2021. They believed Kicklighter’s house to be the home of the correctional officer, who previously lived one house down the street.
The relationship between these four individuals stems from Sumlin and Weekes, who were inmates at Smith State Prison up until Sumlin was released on parole in October 2020. Weekes recruited Jones, his girlfriend and former Georgia Department of Corrections employee, to carry out this murder with Sumlin. Murphy, who was Jones's roommate at the time, is the accused driver of Sumlin's getaway car on the night of January 30, 2021.
Jones was charged with nine felonies, and Murphy was charged with eight. Murphy and Jones were indicted on one count of Malice Murder, three counts of Felony Murder, one count of Burglary in the First Degree, one count of Aggravated Assault, one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and Conspiracy to Commit Murder. Jones has also been charged with one count of Conspiracy to Violate the Georgia RICO Act. Jones and Murphy, like Sumlin, were charged with one count of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony.
