ATLANTA — A man was convicted of killing his mother and her boyfriend then living with the bodies inside the home for around two weeks.
Neil Russell, 46, lived with the bodies of his mother, Henrietta Russell and her longtime boyfriend, Marvin Spencer, for an estimated two weeks after he killed them in late February 2025.
He’ll likely live the rest of his life in prison following his recent conviction for murder and other charges.
He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus 25 years. By current parole standards, he wouldn’t be eligible for parole for at least 60 years.
“When his mother got paid her Social Security on the 1st, he immediately went to an ATM machine and emptied out her account,” Fulton County Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney Travis Thomas told Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne on Channel 2 Action News at 6:00 p.m.
Maria Spencer says March 7, 2025 was supposed to be the 76th birthday of her dad Marvin Spencer, a father of three, grandfather of 14, and great-grandfather of six. Instead, it was the date she found out he’d been murdered along with his longtime girlfriend Henrietta Russell, whom he loved.
“I think my faith is one of the main things that’s getting me through it. I haven’t really necessarily taken the time off to properly grieve,” Maria Spencer said.
Maria spencer says she’d been trying to reach her dad for two or three days. When she couldn’t, she finally called Henrietta Russell’s phone, and her son Neil answered.
She said they had never met but she knew something wasn’t right. She went to the couple’s apartment and asked the property manager to do a welfare check.
They called 911 when they couldn’t get in.
Assistant DA Lauren Polk said when officers arrived at the door, they could already smell the decomposing bodies.
Thomas says during a roughly four-hour standoff, Neil Russell spoke with an Atlanta police officer and 911. After SWAT got through the door, authorities discovered Henrietta Russell had been strangled and Spencer stabbed.
He says the defense hammered at a lack of DNA or fingerprint evidence, and Neil Russell’s motive is a mystery.
“We know he has drug history. He had just gone out of rehab at the time,” Thomas said.
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