With the execution date approaching for a Georgia man convicted of murdering two real estate agents, the mother of one victim is reflecting on the lives of the women killed while at work — and on the continuing safety concerns facing real estate professionals.
Unless a court grants a last-minute stay or the governor issues clemency, 53-year-old Stacey Ian Humphreys is set to be executed Sept. 16 at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.
Lori Brown, 21, and Cynthia “Cyndi” Williams, 33, were working on Nov. 3, 2003, from a model-home sales office in the Oakwind subdivision. The upscale Powder Springs development was expanding rapidly when Humphreys shot and killed both women.
Because the office was open to potential homebuyers, meeting people they did not know was an ordinary part of the agents’ daily work.
Cyndi Williams and Lori Brown. (Cobb County Superior Court)
Williams returned from lunch and was the first to encounter Humphreys. Brown arrived soon afterward, unaware that an armed robbery was already in progress inside the office.
Prosecutors said Humphreys held the women at gunpoint, forced them to remove their clothing and murdered them before escaping with their ATM cards. Investigators found no evidence of sexual assault.
Ed Greathouse, a retired supervisory investigator for the Cobb County Judicial Circuit who helped prosecute the case, told News Media that detectives never established why Humphreys targeted that office instead of another in the subdivision.
A natural in real estate
For Brown’s mother, veteran real estate agent Linda Brown, her daughter’s warm and outgoing nature made real estate an especially natural career choice.
“Let me tell you, she was a rascal growing up,” Linda told News Media. “She had a gregarious spirit about her.”
“She was a people person from the time she was small. She never met a stranger. That’s why real estate was such a perfect place for her because she was really good at it.”
Brown formed a close friendship with Williams, who took Brown under her wing. She also planned to marry her high school sweetheart in 2004. She had been tasting wedding cakes and looking at venues, Linda said.
On the day she was killed, her wedding-planning notebook sat neatly on her office desk.
“Sometimes I think it’s my fault. I should have never let her go in this direction with real estate but, you know, she was going to do what she was going to do,” Linda added.
Stacey Humphreys was convicted of murder. (Georgia Department of Corrections)
Arrest and conviction
After the murders, Humphreys used the stolen bank cards to withdraw over $3,000, according to court records.
On Nov. 8, 2003, authorities arrested Humphreys in a rental Jeep Grand Cherokee, following a high-speed chase in Wisconsin. Investigators found the murder weapon inside the rental, along with Williams’ blood on the gun. They found Brown’s blood inside Humphreys’ personal vehicle, according to the Georgia Supreme Court record.
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Greathouse said investigators believed Humphreys was heading toward Canada when a Waukesha County officer apprehended him.
“It was fairly common knowledge in prison, where he had been, and certainly in law enforcement, that if you get to Canada, Canada won’t extradite you back to the United States, unless the prosecutor absolutely will not pursue the death penalty,” he said.
Although Humphreys insisted he did not remember killing the women, he told investigators, “I know I did it. I know it just as well as I know my own name.”
Authorities learned that Humphreys was behind on his vehicle payments and had taken out a high-interest payday loan he could not afford.
In 2007, a Glynn County jury convicted Humphreys of two counts of malice murder, along with armed robbery, kidnapping and aggravated assault. He pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Linda Brown remains skeptical that Humphreys’ execution will take place after 23 years. (Linda Brown)
In favor of the death penalty
The state scheduled Humphreys’ execution for Dec. 17, 2025, but the State Board of Pardons and Paroles postponed the date and his clemency hearing amid legal challenges.
Greathouse said obtaining a death sentence was unusual during his years working capital cases in Cobb County.
“I did 13 death penalty cases in Cobb County during my tenure, and that was, I think, one of two we actually achieved the death penalty,” he said. “It’s really rare.”
Nearly 23 years after her daughter’s death, Linda remains skeptical that Humphreys’ execution will take place.
“Not only did we lose these two girls, but we had to go through 4.5 years waiting for a trial to come to an end. So, here we are 23 years later,” she said. “I’m still in favor of the death penalty for this man that took their lives.”
Humphreys’ attorney filed a motion this past week to try to throw out his death sentence over claims of jury misconduct, but a judge rejected that motion on Thursday, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
Safety for real estate professionals
Linda continues to speak about the case during National REALTOR® Safety Month, an initiative held every September to raise awareness about safety risks in the profession.
“A lot of my friends had said to me at that time, ‘We know you’ll probably want to get out of real estate,’” Linda said. “I thought about it a long time, and I decided that I was not going to let this man drive me out of my profession.”
Linda said she avoids taking clients into basements or putting herself in places where she could become cornered, and she walks behind prospective buyers while showing homes.
“I’m not saying that what happened to Lori and Cyndi, that they could have done anything different from what they did. They were very vulnerable.”