Aeman Lovel Presley (born 1980) is an American

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who killed four people over four months in 2014, in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

DeKalb DeKalb or De Kalb may refer to: People * Baron Johann de Kalb (1721–1780), major general in the American Revolutionary War Places Municipalities in the United States * DeKalb, Illinois, the largest city in the United States named DeKalb **DeKal ...

and Fulton Counties. Presley fully admitted his guilt, and as a result of a

plea agreement A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defenda ...

, he was given several terms of

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed te ...

without

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

Biography

Aeman Presley was born in 1980, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

. Soon after his birth, his father abandoned the family. In 1992, he joined a gang associated with the

Folk Nation The Folks Nation is an alliance of street gangs originating in Chicago, established in 1978. The alliance has since spread throughout the United States, particularly the Midwest region of the United States. They are rivals of the People Nation ...

and began committing small-time offenses. In order to change this unhealthy lifestyle, Presley and his mother left Chicago in 1995, moving to

Stone Mountain, Georgia Stone Mountain is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,703 according to the 2020 US Census. Stone Mountain is in the eastern part of DeKalb County and is a suburb of Atlanta that encompasses nearly 1.7 square mil ...

, a small town with a population of about 6,000. There, Aeman attended the local

Stone Mountain High School Stone Mountain High School is a college preparatory and public high school located in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, near Stone Mountain and in the Atlanta metropolitan area. History It is one of the oldest high schools ...

. In December 1995, as part of a journalistic investigation into the life of juvenile delinquents in the state, Presley, along with several other teens, gave an interview to the ''TimesDaily'', describing his experience as a former gang member. After graduating high school, he joined the

Georgia National Guard The Georgia National Guard is the National Guard of the U.S. state of Georgia, and consists of the Georgia Army National Guard and the Georgia Air National Guard. (The Georgia State Defense Force is the third military unit of the Georgia Depart ...

, but was fired in the early 2000s, returning to his mother's home in Stone Mountain, where he worked low-skilled labour-intensive jobs. Presley began to exhibit antisocial and violent behavior, developing a drug addiction as well. In December 2002, he was fired from

Carmike Cinemas Carmike Cinemas was a motion picture exhibitor headquartered in Columbus, Georgia. As of March 2016, the company had 276 theaters with 2,954 screens in 41 states, and was the fourth largest movie theater chain in the United States. The company ...

after repeatedly threatening visitors and co-workers alike. In the immediate aftermath, he threatened to kill his former supervisor, who called the police. Aeman was arrested, but avoided prison time, and was instead given a fine and compulsory

anger management Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully.Schwarts, Gil. July 2006. Anger Management', July 2006 The Office Politic. Men's Health magazine. Emmaus, PA ...

courses, which he attended for the next several months. On April 19, 2003, Presley was arrested on charges of assault after beating his mother, heavily resisting the officers and attempting to break the police car's windows while being transported to the station. He was found guilty, but some of the charges were dropped, as his mother came to an agreement with him, with Aeman apologising for his actions. He received a minor sentence, and after his release, he returned to his mother's house. In March 2006, he was rearrested for indecent behavior, and in April of that year, he was convicted and sentenced to several months imprisonment, which he served in the county jail. Released at the end of 2006, he moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, where he met representatives in show business. Thanks to their support, he got a job at an Atlanta TV station, and for the next four years, he worked as an

extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * '' Extra!'', an American m ...

in TV shows and news reports. Between 2008 and 2009, he performed supporting roles in the low-budget short films "Exit" and "The Rules", after which he decided he wanted to become a professional actor. In 2010, Presley left Georgia and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, where he rented an apartment and enrolled in the Margie Haber Studio, an acting school based in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

. However, his film career did not work out. Despite his previous experience, his acting abilities were considered unconvincing. Over the next three years, he was forced to act as a simple extra during the filmings of various films, unable to pass a single casting to get a role in serious film projects. He spent most of his time at home, drinking alcohol and using drugs. In May 2014, he was detained by the Los Angeles police on charges of illegal drug possession, but was released a day later, due to the lack of a judicial arrest warrant. After an arrest warrant was issued and his apartment searched, Presley left Los Angeles and returned to Atlanta.

Serial murders

After returning to Atlanta, Presley took odd jobs and lived in a homeless shelter. In August, he purchased a five-round Taurus Raging Judge revolver, with which he decided to commit robberies. On September 26, he boarded a bus and travelled to DeKalb County, where he came across 53-year-old Calvin Gholston, whom he shot three times. The victim had

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wi ...

and

dromomania Dromomania was a historical psychiatric diagnosis whose primary symptom was uncontrollable urge to walk or wander. Dromomania has also been referred to as travelling fugue. Non-clinically, the term has come to be used to describe a desire for frequ ...

. On November 23, Presley shot 42-year-old vagrant Dorian Jenkins three times in the chest. Three days later, he shot and killed 68-year-old Tommy Mims, who was sleeping under a railway bridge. After killing Mims, Presley searched for another victim, but instead returned to the crime scene, deciding to fire two additional shots in the dead man's head. On the night of December 6, Presley travelled to Decatur. In the following early morning, he noticed 44-year-old Karen Pearce heading towards her car. He went up to her and threatened to shoot her with his revolver. Pearce gave up all her valuables, but nevertheless, Presley shot her, killing her instantly.

Arrest

Aeman Presley was arrested on December 11, while trying to pass the underground turnstile without a ticket. He was searched by the officers, who found a bank card, the revolver and a bag of 32 rounds among his personal belongings. He was charged with illegal weapons possession, and taken to the local police station. After a forensic ballistic examination confirmed that the four victims had been killed with the exact gun that he was carrying, Aeman began cooperating with the investigators, confessing to all the murders.

Trial

In September 2015, Presley's trial began at the DeKalb County District Court for the murders of Galston and Pearce. As the result of a plea bargain, he was spared the death penalty and sentenced to two life imprisonment terms without parole in June 2016. After the verdict was announced, Aeman declared to be remorseful for what he had done, and asked the victims' relatives for forgiveness. Following his conviction, in January 2017, Presley stood trial in Fulton County for the murders of Jenkins and Mims. He pleaded guilty to both murders, claiming that after he had killed the first victim, he got addicted to murder, but also declared that he shouldn't be subjected to criminal liability due to his insanity.

In media

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Amer ...

show Signs of a Psychopath (season 4) made an episode about the case. Season 17 Episode 3 (title Blood Lust)of A&E's show The First 48 depicts the investigation into the deaths of 2 of his victims.

References