30 years for hitting fiancée’s car, killing passenger

Fatal episode started with an argument and rapidly escalated.

A Cobb County man had been threatening to kill his fiancée, so he tracked her car to a Marietta street and intentionally crashed into her, according to investigators.

But when Michael David Lauray struck the woman’s Toyota Corolla in August 2021, he killed her passenger. The crash pushed the Corolla into the path of another car and also injured that driver, Marietta police previously said.

On Wednesday, the Cobb district attorney said Lauray was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of homicide by vehicle in the first degree and one count of serious injury by vehicle.

The crash happened Aug. 31, 2021, around 6:30 a.m. on Powder Springs Street near South Marietta Parkway, according to police. Alexus Hickling, 24, was killed in the crash.

Lauray left the scene without calling 911, but later returned, police said. He was not injured in the crash. In an initial interview with officers, Lauray gave false information, his warrant states.

“Later that evening, detectives located Michael Lauray’s vehicle, a 2019 Chevrolet Trax, and noticed damage to the front right quarter of his vehicle,“the Cobb DA’S office said. “Detectives seized Lauray’s vehicle based on the damage. Through the course of the vehicle inspection, paint scrapings were recovered and sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The GBI and Marietta Police Department’s STEP Team determined Lauray’s vehicle was involved in the crash.”

Investigators said phone records showed Lauray and his fiancée had been arguing before the crash over alleged cheating. He was arrested Sept. 6 and has been held at the Cobb jail since.

The following month, Lauray was indicted on seven counts: malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, terroristic threats, making false statements and battery, according to the Cobb DA. In March, Lauray was re-indicted on lesser charges.