Man Charged in One of Series of Slayings in Atlanta

A 31-year-old man was charged Wednesday with raping and killing one of four elderly black women whose slayings terrorized a west Atlanta neighborhood. Police said they would seek indictments against him in the three other cases.

Richard Hunter, who is black, was charged with murder, rape and burglary in the death of 85-year-old Annie Rochelle Copeland, who was smothered with a pillow in her apartment, Public Safety Commissioner George Napper said. Her body was found March 1.

“We believe the same person is also responsible for the other killings that have taken place,” Napper said at a news conference. “Within the next couple of weeks we plan to take all the evidence gathered at this point to the district attorney and seek indictments.”

A warrant filed with the Atlanta Municipal Court said Hunter told investigators that he exchanged Copeland’s television for narcotics.

The four victims were killed in an area between the campuses of Georgia Tech and Spelman College.