NEWTON COUNTY — A Newton County judge has sentenced Marques Smith, 35, to two consecutive life sentences in prison without parole plus 10 additional years for firearm charges for the September 2022 murders of Craig and Desiree Thomas.

In State v. Marques Smith, the prosecution argued that Smith should be sentenced to life without parole. Judge Layla Zon heard victim impact statements from Smith and Desiree’s daughters, one of whom was present for the double murder of her mother and stepfather.

Based on the evidence presented at trial in October, Smith was convicted of shooting Craig and Desiree at their home at 60 Pebble Lane in Covington at a scheduled custody exchange of their daughter.

Smith reportedly retrieved a firearm from his vehicle and approached the car that held Craig, Desiree and his daughter. Smith then shot and killed Craig and Desiree before fleeing the scene.

The couple attempted to drive away, but hit a mailbox in the process. Craig was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after, and Desiree succumbed to her wounds in an ambulance, according to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office.

The following day, Smith turned himself in to authorities and was taken into custody at the Newton County Jail.

At trial, a Newton County jury convinced Smith 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.

“The Defendant killed two young adults in cold blood,” said District Attorney Randy McGinley in a Dec. 13 statement posted to the Newton County District Attorney's Office Facebook page. “His selfish actions mean that three children will grow up without their parents. Thankfully, Craig’s and Desiree’s families will be there for these kids while the Defendant spends the rest of his life in prison.”

According to jail records The Covington News pulled in 2022, Smith’s criminal record is nearly two decades in the making, beginning in 2005. In 2017, Rockdale County convicted him of aggravated battery, which established a history of violence that ultimately aided the jury in determining Smith’s guilt in the double murder of Craig and Desiree.