WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — A Warner Robins man was found guilty on Wednesday of murdering his mother in 2021, according to a press release from the Houston County District Attorney's Office.
32-year-old Spencer Brooks was convicted of four different charges: malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and arson of the first degree. He faces life without parole.
“This was a difficult case,” Houston County District Attorney William Kendall said “It’s not often that a man strangles his own mother to death and then sets her house on fire."
The trial began on Monday and on Wednesday the jurors reached their decision.
“This conviction ensures Brooks will not be in our community for at least the next 30 years, with a maximum possible punishment of life without the possibility of parole,” Houston County Assistant District Attorney Justin Duane said. “Criminals like Brooks do not deserve the freedoms which others enjoy. I hope this conviction and subsequent sentence will bring some closure to the family despite the egregious acts of Brooks.”
On Jan. 10, 2021, the Warner Robins Fire and Police Department responded to a fire within the 300 block of Clairmont Drive.
Shortly after the Fire Department put out the fire, they located 57-year-old Lisa Brooks dead.
While she had fourth-degree burns on her body, an autopsy showed that she was strangled to death, the District Attorney's Office says.
After an investigation from the Fire Department, they say five separate fires were intentionally set inside the house, with one being set directly next to Lisa Brooks.
Two letters written by Brooks were also found by the Police Department. They said how she was having problems with her son and that she was afraid of him.
The letters also said that her son blamed her for all of his problems and that their relationship became strained due to money issues. Brooks, according to the letters, had recently received an inheritance from a family member.
During the Warner Robins Police Department’s investigation, a set of witnesses, who were headed over to do drugs with Lisa Brooks, referred to Spencer Brooks as erratic.
He told them she wasn’t home and added that he, according to the release, was getting ready to burn the house down. Brooks attempted to leave with them, but they refused.
Other testimonies from witnesses said that Spencer Brooks smelled like diesel was acting erratic and demonic
The DA's office says when they tried to leave, Brooks attempted to join them, but was turned down. After being alerted the house was on fire, he said it wasn’t his house and ran to another neighbor’s house.
The neighbor woke up around 1 a.m. to let her dog out, when she noticed the house on fire when Brooks ran inside her house. She asked him what he was doing, and he told her that he was going to be on the I.D. Channel — referencing murder mystery television shows according to the release.
She said that, because she was concerned for the safety of her child, she watched Brooks change his clothes and helped create an alibi. He then left her house, walked back to his mom’s house and watched it burn.
"Due to the work of the fire department, Detective Vanlannen, and the rest of the Warner Robins Police Department, the defendant has been convicted of murder and will be going to prison for the rest of his life," Kendall said. "This case presented serious challenges and I am glad we were able to overcome those challenges. Hopefully the family can close this chapter of their life.”
Brooks was, at the time, on probation for two separate felony cases and had received parole from prison a month before the murder.