Mark O. Barton
| Mark O. Barton | |
|---|---|
Mark O. Barton
|
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| Born |
Mark Orrin Barton April 2, 1955 |
| Died | July 29, 1999 (aged 44) Acworth, Georgia |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Occupation | Day trader, chemist |
| Killings | |
| Date | July 27 – July 29, 1999 |
| Location(s) | Stockbridge, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia |
| Target(s) | His wife and two children; former co-workers |
| Killed | 13 (including himself) |
| Injured | 13 |
| Weapons |
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Mark Orrin Barton (April 2, 1955 – July 29, 1999) was a spree killer from , who killed 12 people and injured 13 more on July 29, 1999. The murders occurred at Barton's own house and at two Atlanta day trading firms that had previously employed Barton as a day trader, Momentum Securities and the All-Tech Investment Group. It is believed that Barton was motivated by large financial losses during the previous two months. Before he could be apprehended by police, Barton committed suicide.
Following the shootings, police searching Barton's home found that his second wife, Leigh Ann Vandiver Barton, and two children, Matthew David Barton (12) and Mychelle Elizabeth Barton (10), had been murdered by hammer blows before the shooting spree. The children had then been placed in bed, as if sleeping. According to a note Barton left at the scene, his wife was killed on July 27 and the children murdered on July 28.
Prior to the massacre, Barton had been a suspect in the 1993 beating deaths of his first wife, Debra Spivey, and her mother, Eloise Spivey, in Cherokee County, Alabama. Although he was never charged for either of the crimes—and though the note he left with the bodies of his children and his second wife denied any involvement in the 1993 murders—authorities consider Barton a suspect in those murders.
Barton was born on April 2, 1955, in Stockbridge, Georgia, to an Air Force family, and was raised in South Carolina. Barton attended Clemson University and the University of South Carolina, where he earned a degree in chemistry despite his ongoing drug habit. Back in Atlanta, Georgia, he married Debra Spivey, and had two children, Matthew and Mychelle.
The family moved to Alabama due to Barton's job. He became paranoid and started distrusting his wife. He lost his job when his work performance started to suffer. He was caught sabotaging company data in retaliation for his firing and he served a short jail term.
Back in Georgia, Barton got a new job and began an affair with Leigh Ann Vandiver, one of his wife's acquaintances. In 1993, Debra Spivey and her mother Eloise were bludgeoned to death. Barton was the prime suspect but was not charged due to lack of evidence. Barton married Leigh Ann in 1995. His mental health continued to deteriorate and he began to suffer from severe depression and paranoid delusions.
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