CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA — The confession is in. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville rejected an effort to exclude the confession of accused metro Atlanta spa shooter Robert Aaron Long from his death penalty trial.

District Attorney Fani Willis is seeking the death penalty.

The man accused of killing eight people at spas in two metro counties appeared in a Fulton County courtroom Monday morning. Long is already serving four life sentences after pleading guilty to the four murders at Young’s Asian Massage Parlor in Cherokee County in March of 2021.

The shooting spree is considered one of the inspirations for the “Stop Asian Hate” movement, a national campaign to end violence against Asian people in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Defense Attorney Jerilyn Bell contended that Long’s Cherokee County statement was involuntary, as he admitted to drinking a bottle of bourbon before the mass shootings at the three massage spas in 2021 and had no lawyer at the time.

However, Fulton County Prosecutor Mike Carlson notes neither Long nor his current lawyers hesitated to enter his guilty plea.

The judge urged lawyers to get their filings in timely for what is a very detailed death penalty trial procedure, so they can move toward the trial itself.

The Defense has until April 4 to file its next evidentiary motion, re: the bias charge.

Long’s next court date is April 29.