Judge imposes two life sentences, plus 100 years on Hartwell man for murder convictions

A Hartwell man was ordered by a judge Monday to spend the rest of his life in prison for the slayings of two people who were gunned down on a rural Hart County road.

Morris Maurice Norwood, 61, was convicted Oct. 4 in a Hart County Superior Court jury trial of numerous charges on a 15-county indictment that included two counts of murder. The victims, Jerece Teasley, 26, and Alexius Spencer, 25, both of Hartwell, were shot to death on May 9, 2022, as they sat in a car along Redwine Church Road near Bowersville.

Judge Jeffery Malcom sentenced Norwood to two life sentences without parole for malice murder to be served consecutively, followed by a consecutive term of 100 years in prison for numerous convictions of terroristic threats, cocaine possession and gun violations.

Northern Circuit District Attorney Parks White said Monday the trial included key evidentiary testimony from DNA and firearms experts.

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Prior to the killings, White said court evidence showed Norwood had been using crack cocaine for three days and drinking liquor.

In what appears to be a robbery, White said Norwood blocked Teasley’s car on the rural road, then walked up to the driver’s side door and emptied his .38-caliber pistol into the car killing both people. Teasley had one child and Spencer was the mother of two children.

Norwood’s DNA was found on a cigarette that White said the defendant dropped at the crime scene and on a cigarette found in his vehicle. The gun was recovered and it contained “touch DNA” from Norwood and a pill bottle was found near the gun which contained cocaine and Norwood’s name on the bottle, according to the district attorney.

On Monday at the sentencing, Norwood wanted to make a statement, which White described as denials to the crime.

“He made denials and we cut him off,” White said. “He can’t claim not guilty at sentencing because that’s impeaching a verdict.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Judge imposes two life sentences, plus 100 years on Hartwell man for murder convictions