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Mark O. Barton
Mark O. Barton
Background information
Birth name	Mark Orrin Barton
Occupation	Daytrader
Born	April 2, 1955
Died	July 29, 1999 Acworth, Georgia, United States
Cause of Death	Suicide
Killings
Date	July 27 – July 29, 1999
Target(s)	Daytraders at All-Tech Investment Group & Momentum Securities
Location(s)	Stockbridge, Georgia, United States
Killed	12
Injured	13
Weapon(s)	Hammer Colt 1911A1 Glock 17 H&R Revolver Raven MP-25

Mark Orrin Barton (April 2, 1955 – July 29, 1999) was a spree killer from Stockbridge, Georgia, who, on July 29, 1999, shot and killed 9 people and injured 13 more. The shootings occurred at two Atlanta day trading firms, Momentum Securities and the All-Tech Investment Group. It is believed that Barton, a daytrader, was motivated by $105,000 USD in losses over the previous two months. Four hours after the Atlanta shootings, Barton committed suicide at a gas station in Acworth, Georgia. He had been spotted by police and was ordered to stop, but shot and killed himself before the police could reach him.

Following the shootings, police searching Barton's home found that his second wife and two children (Leigh Ann Vandiver Barton, 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 July 27, and the children murdered July 28.^[1]

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 in 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^[2] - he is still considered a suspect in those murders by authorities.^[3]

Education

Barton attended the University of South Carolina, where he graduated with a chemistry degree in 1979.^[4]

Quotes

• Immediately prior to entering the manager's office at All-Tech, Barton was heard to say, "I hope this doesn't ruin your trading day."
• "There may be similarities between these deaths and the death of my first wife Debra Spivey. However, I deny killing her and her mother. There is no reason for me to lie now."^[5]

Victims

^[6][7]

• Leigh Ann Vandiver Barton, 27, wife of Mark Barton
• Matthew David Barton, 11, son of Mark Barton
• Mychelle Elizabeth Barton, 8, daughter of Mark Barton
• Allen Charles Tenenbaum, 48, daytrader at All-Tech Investment Group
• Dean Delawalla, 52, daytrader at All-Tech Investment Group
• Joseph J. Dessert, 60, daytrader at All-Tech Investment Group
• Jamshid Havash, 45, daytrader at All-Tech Investment Group
• Vadewattee Muralidhara, 44, took a computer course at All-Tech Investment Group
• Edward Quinn, 58, daytrader at Momentum Securities
• Kevin Dial, 38, office manager at Momentum Securities
• Russell J. Brown, 42, daytrader at Momentum Securities
• Scott A. Webb, 30, daytrader at Momentum Securities

References

External links

• BBC News stories on the Atlanta shootings
• CourtTV's Crime Library feature
• Manhunt under way for suspect in Atlanta shootings, CNN (July 29, 1999)
• Investigators search for answers after 12 die in Georgia killings, CNN (July 30, 1999)
• Blood bath followed suspect's mounting stock losses, CNN (July 31, 1999)
• Mourners remember gunman's wife as soccer mom, Scout leader, CNN (August 1, 1999)
• A Portrait of the Killer, Time Magazine (August 9, 1999)