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Written by: E. George
Published October 25, 2024 @ 1:50 PM ET
FULTON COUNTY, Ga – Six years after the gruesome murders of married couple Harry and Deborah Hubbard, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has announced it lacks sufficient evidence to pursue charges against the accused killer, Cornelius Muckle. However, attorneys say problems with the initial investigation which accused the wrong man of the crime may have made the prosecution of the the new suspect difficult.
On July 3, 2018, firefighters were called to a house fire in northwest Atlanta, where they discovered the charred remains of the Hubbards inside their home. Investigators determined that both had likely been strangled shortly before the fire was set.
The police arrested Deborah’s eldest son, Sylvester, who was known to have visited his mother on the evening of the murders. Sylvester’s arrest stemmed from what authorities claimed was suspicious behavior following the fire.
Allegations were made that he had purchased alcohol and mothballs before the incident. However, critical details were missing from the detective’s affidavit, which led to Sylvester’s arrest.
Notably, the affidavit failed to mention that Harry’s niece had spoken to him at 9:30 PM, stating he seemed “OK.” Additionally, video and cell phone evidence corroborated Sylvester’s alibi, confirming that he never returned to the residence after leaving at 9:00 PM.
Zack Greenamyre, one of Sylvester’s attorneys, expressed frustration over the initial investigation, stating, “They shoehorned everything to try and point the finger at someone they knew did not do it.” After more than a year in jail, Sylvester was released, and the city of Atlanta ultimately agreed to a $1.5 million settlement to resolve his lawsuit for wrongful arrest.
In 2021, the Fulton County DA’s Office reopened the investigation and identified Cornelius Muckle as a potential suspect. Evidence emerged, including cell phone data placing Muckle at the crime scene around 3:00 AM and his subsequent pawning of items belonging to the Hubbards two days later. Yet, despite this newfound evidence, the DA’s Office ultimately chose not to prosecute Muckle.
A statement from the office emphasized their commitment to only bringing cases to trial where the evidence can satisfy the high standard of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. “The evidence did not meet that standard in this case,” the statement read, underscoring the principle that every accused individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Former DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James commented on the complexities of the case, noting that the passage of time as well as the initial investigation has likely hindered a potential prosecution. “Because they have an old case, and I’m certain some things have gone stale, and then they have a detective that you can’t really trust what he says,” James said.
Greenamyre lamented the inability to find conclusive answers, stating, “They didn’t get the answer right the first time, and now it seems they are never going to get an answer about what happened in this case.”