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DEKALB, GA– A date has been set for the trial of a man accused of murdering two people—one of them who was the suspect’s 14-year-old niece in 2018. DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Tangela Barrie has scheduled the case to begin with jury selection at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 9, in Courtroom 5C, the Office of DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry stated in a news release
Royce Stewart, 42, is accused of committing the double morning murders around 9:30 a.m. on March 25, 2018 at the Trinity Walk Apartments in Decatur, according to the investigation.
A DeKalb County Grand Jury indicted Stewart on June 21, 2018 on two counts of Murder, two counts of Felony Murder, three counts of Aggravated Assault, Theft by Taking and Possession of a Knife During Commission of a Felony. The charges are in connection with the murders of Stewart’s niece, Shykia Ward, 14, and Stewart’s sister’s boyfriend, Manuel Santos, 35.
Royce Stewart was arrested the day after the murders and has remained in custody, authorities said. Stewart had been deemed mentally incompetent to face trial until February of this year.