Duluth man found guilty of 19-year-old woman's 2022 murder in Flowery Branch
Timothy James Krueger, Sr., 49, of Duluth was taken into custody at his residence on Cardinal Lake Drive on Thursday, August 4, 2022.
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A Gwinnett County jury convicted a Duluth man for fatally stabbing a 19-year-old woman after a dispute over money.
Timothy James Krueger, 51, was found guilty Friday of malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault for the June 16, 2022, stabbing death of Sarai Llanos Gomez. The jury deliberated for two hours before returning a verdict.
"This was a cruel, brutal way for this young woman to die," District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. "Ms. Llanos Gomez has two children who are motherless. This defendant was cold and calculating, and the jury’s swift verdict will deliver much-deserved justice to Ms. Llanos Gomez and to her family and loved ones."
According to the prosecution, Krueger requested an escort on the night of June 16, 2022, and a different woman was sent to his home than the one he wanted. At some point after Llanos Gomez arrived, a dispute erupted over the amount of pay she received. Krueger, having been robbed before by an escort, became agitated. Llanos, who was much smaller than Krueger, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and tried to leave the house.
Sarai Llanos Gomez (Hall County Sheriff's Office).
Krueger disarmed her of the knife, stabbing her in the back and then repeatedly all over her body before finally slitting her throat, according to investigators. He then cut off Llanos Gomez’s clothes, wrapped her body in a blanket, and put the body in his car. Investigators say he took the body to the wooded area of a Hall County residential area where he dumped the remains.
Homeowners in the Hall County neighborhood discovered Llanos Gomez’s body four days later and called police. Investigators were able to identify Llanos Gomez and used cell phone activity to place her at Krueger’s home. Police matched a suspect's vehicle recorded on a Hall County resident's Ring camera to Krueger’s car, and he confessed to killing Llanos Gomez, although in court he claimed self-defense.
Krueger will be sentenced at a later date.