Police officer’s killer avoids death penalty with guilty plea

Detective’s mother says family can begin healing now.

Seth Brandon Spangler could have faced the death penalty. But with his guilty plea Thursday, he will spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering a Polk County police officer, District Attorney Jack Browning said.

On Sept. 29, 2017, Spangler shot Detective Kristen

Hearne, 29, four times as she responded to a call about a car reported stolen on a dirt road in Cedartown, according to investigators. Hearne was assisting a rookie officer when Spangler fired multiple rounds at them.

Officer David Goodrich was wearing a bulletproof vest, which saved his life. Due to the nature of the call, Hearne was not wearing a vest. She died from her injuries.

Spangler and another suspect, Samantha Roof, escaped on foot, but thengbi Director Vernon Keenan said Roof didn’t get far.

Spangler was on the run for hours, setting off a massive manhunt that included the first use of Georgia’s Blue Alert, an emergency call put out by local law enforcement after the shooting of an officer.

Hearne, a mother to a young son, was the first female Polk County officer killed in the line of duty. She died doing what she loved and was a hero, her family and friends said in the days after her death.

Spangler and Roof were charged with murder. Browning previously announced intentions to pursue the death penalty against the pair. But Thursday’s plea by Spangler brought closure to Hearne’s family, the DA said.

“While they felt that a death sentence would certainly be justified, even that, being the harshest sentence that could be imposed, would never fill the void and the loss in their life brought on by Spangler’s actions, nor would it be enough to end or allow us to forget the pain he caused our family, Kristen’s law enforcement family, and an entire community,” Browning said in an emailed statement.

Since Hearne’s death, her family has focused not on those responsible but on her son, Browning said. Hearne’s mother, Trish Brewer, said she is pleased the case against Spangler has ended.

“We can now finally begin the healing process for ourselves and, most importantly, for our Isaac,” Brewer said. “Kristen’s law enforcement family and the District Attorney’s Office have always, from when this all began, listened to our concerns about what was important to us and respected our feelings and wishes concerning getting closure and finality of this case, and for that we are grateful.”

The case against Roof is pending, the DA said.

Seth Brandon Spangler will spend his life in prison for the killing.