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Man charged with murder of two women at same address, seven months apart

By Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News Sep 14, 2023 | 3:59 PM
Oliver Helbig/Getty Images

(BATON ROUGE, La.) — A Louisiana man charged with murdering a woman in July has now been charged in a second murder at the same address that happened last December, according to Baton Rouge police.

The December murder was previously thought to be a suicide until police discovered the two killings happened at the same address, according to Baton Rouge ABC affiliate WBRZ.

Cedrick Lang, 35, has now been charged for the beating death of 26-year-old Christina Hobbs, which occurred on Dec. 26, 2022.

Hobbs was found dead in her home at the Florida Vista Condominiums from a gunshot wound, according to police.

Lang was rebooked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison for second-degree murder.

He was already charged with the beating death of 42-year-old Rachel Johnson, who was killed at the same location on July 3, according to police. Johnson had died from blunt force trauma, according to autopsy results.

Police described responding to a report of a possible overdose on July 3, to find a woman whose eyes “appeared to have been blackened and swollen shut” and “had apparent bruising over her body,” according to an affidavit.

“It appeared as if she was slammed down on the piece of furniture breaking its leg and then beaten with blunt force trauma on the head and face,” according to the affidavit.

Residents told police that the suspect came to a resident and told them to call 911 because Johnson was dead in the apartment and then he left the area.

The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma past and present, according to the affidavit.

A witness told police that they saw the suspect beating Johnson with his fist and said they overheard Lang threaten to kill Johnson when he would get angry, according to the affidavit.

Police said they searched data records from three local jurisdictions and they all showed numerous reports from three separate people who were in a relationship with Lang, all saying that he physically abused them and that they were trying to leave the relationship, according to the affidavit.

Two separate protective orders have been filed against Lang, according to the affidavit.

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