Warner Robins man convicted of killing mother, setting house on fire

WARNER ROBINS — A Warner Robins man was convicted of murder and arson, among other charges, for strangling his mother and setting their house on fire in early 2021. After an hour of deliberation, Spencer Brooks, 32, was convicted by a Houston County jury of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault and First-Degree Arson on July 17.

According to a release by the Houston County District Attorney’s Office, sentencing will take place later; Spencer Brooks faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The charges stem from an incident that took place in January 2021. On January 10, 2021, the Warner Robins police and fire departments responded early in the morning to a fire at 343 Clairmont Drive. 

After extinguishing the fire, fire crews discovered the body of Lisa Brooks. Lisa and Spencer Brooks were mother and son and lived together at the house. 

Fire investigators learned five separate fires were intentionally started in the house, one next to Lisa Brooks’s body. Autopsy results found she was also strangled before the house was set on fire.

Police investigators pieced together a narrative of events. Roughly an hour before neighbors noticed the fire, two people stopped by the house to do drugs with Lisa Brooks, but Spencer Brooks told them his mother wasn’t home. He was also acting erratically.

When the witnesses asked him what he was doing, he said he was preparing to burn the house down; they later testified they believed he was joking. 

The two witnesses left the house believing his mother was not home; Spencer Brooks tried to go with them, but they refused based on his erratic behavior.

Around 1 a.m., Spencer Brooks entered a neighboring house. Two witnesses inside noticed he smelled like diesel fuel and also acted what they described as “erratic and demonic.” He again tried to leave with the next two witnesses, but they refused.

As the witnesses left, they noticed the house was on fire. When they alerted Spencer Brooks, he said it wasn’t his house and fled to another house.

The occupant of the other house woke up around 1 a.m. and let her dog outside when she noticed the fire and called 911. The defendant ran into her home; when she asked him what was happening, he commented that he’d be on Investigation Discovery, a channel that broadcasts murder mystery shows.

Concerned for her child’s safety, the fifth witness helped him concoct an alibi. He left her house and walked back to his house to watch the fire burn. He was taken into custody at that time by police after a short struggle.

Investigators obtained two letters at the scene written by Lisa Brooks to her son, saying the two had issues and she was afraid of him. He blamed her for his problems and had a strained relationship with her due to money. She reportedly received an inheritance from another family member.

WRPD Detective Trent Vanlannen, WRFD Captain Kevin Kendrick, and seven members of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s forensic science division investigated the case. Assistant District Attorney Justin Duane and ADA Brandi Holland prosecuted the case.

Duane thanked investigators for their work and spoke on unique circumstances.

“Thank you to Lieutenant Roberts, Captain Kendrick and the rest of the Warner Robins Fire Department for their work in this case. This was a difficult case. It’s not often that a man strangles his own mother to death and then sets her house on fire,” Duane said. “Due to the work of the fire department, Detective Vanlannen, and the rest of the Warner Robins Police Department, the defendant has been convicted of murder and will be going to prison for the rest of his life. This case presented serious challenges and I am glad we were able to overcome those challenges. Hopefully the family can close this chapter of their life.”

District Attorney Will Kendall thanked public safety and the DA’s office staff, remaining hopeful that the conviction would bring closure.

“Great work by the WRFD, WRPD and the GBI in providing a thorough, accurate and timely investigation. ADA J. Duane and ADA Holland were able to secure a conviction in large part because of the good work of WRFD and WRPD, for that we are grateful,” Kendall said. “This conviction ensures Brooks will not be in our community for at least the next 30 years, with a maximum possible punishment of life without the possibility of parole. Criminals like Brooks do not deserve the freedoms which others enjoy. I hope this conviction and subsequent sentence will bring some closure to the family despite the egregious acts of Brooks.”