New York couple pleads guilty in Chickamauga Battlefield Park killing
A New York couple accused of murdering a man in the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in late 2015 have pleaded guilty to lesser charges in Catoosa County Superior Court.
Robert Martin Brooks, 39, and Jennifer Allison Demott, 26, both of Geneva, N.Y., were set to go to trial on murder charges Monday, April 10, but instead entered a last-minute plea of guilty before a jury was selected.
Both faced multiple charges of felony murder and exploitation or intimidation of an elderly person in the death of 59-year-old Duane Hollenbeck, who was found struck to death by hikers on a trail along Alexander Bridge Road on Dec. 12, 2015.
Brooks pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and received a 20year sentence, while Demott pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated assault and received a 10-year sentence with an additional 10 years of probation.
Background
Fort Oglethorpe police Detective Sgt. Johnny Lanham led the initial investigation, which included assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), FBI, and New York State Police.
After Hollenbeck’s body was found, investigators interviewed witnesses, which lead to the arrest of Brooks and Demott on exploitation of an elderly person charges on Dec. 18.
As the investigation progressed, the charges were upgraded to murder, with both Brooks and Demott being arrested again in late January 2016 on the new charges.
The investigation revealed that Demott allegedly killed Hollenbeck by striking him in the head with a blunt-force object, causing fatal head trauma.
Both Brooks and Demott had been in Catoosa County jail since their respective 2016 arrests.