NEWTON COUNTY — A Newton County jury has convicted a Covington man for killing two people in front of his own daughter.

Marques Smith, 35, was found guilty earlier this week for the murders of Craig and Desiree Thomas. Desiree and Smith had a teenage daughter from their previous relationship, according to a news release from the Newton County District Attorney’s Office.

The double murder happened on Sept. 11, 2022 when Desiree and Craig went to Smith’s home for a scheduled child custody exchange at 60 Pebble Lane. The news release stated that Smith then went to his vehicle and retrieved a firearm, shooting Craig and Desiree in front of his daughter.

Jack Redlinger from the Newton County Sheriff’s Office previously told The Covington News in a 2022 article that the couple tried to drive away but ultimately hit a mailbox. Craig was pronounced dead at the scene, while Desiree succumbed to her injuries in the ambulance while being transported.

While Smith originally went on the run following the incident, he agreed to turn himself in the next day and was booked in the Newton County jail.

The trial lasted approximately four days, with the jury delivering the guilty verdict in just under a half an hour, per the news release. Smith was formally convicted of two counts of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of possession of a firearm during a felony, cruelty to children in the first degree, two counts of cruelty to children in the third degree and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to jail records pulled from the 2022 article, Smith had a long criminal history dating back to 2005. This included an aggravated battery case which he was convicted in 2017 over in Rockdale County, which was used as evidence of prior physical violence toward Desiree.

The news release also mentioned that Smith told family members that the trial was “fun” and that he laughed when he saw a picture of his aforementioned 2017 case. He also told family members that he “missed his truck” that was in the video, and that “he enjoyed being the ‘guest of honor.’”

Smith remains in custody and his sentencing will take place at a later date.