UPDATE: On September 2, 2020, Fulton County District Attorney's office says charges have been dismissed against Keith Sylvester for the July, 2018 deaths of his parents in Atlanta, GA.
Deborah and Harry Hubbard were hoping to have a happy life in Atlanta, Georgia. The couple's life was cut short in July when they were found strangled in their home that was also set on fire.
Deborah's son, Keith Sylvester, 47, is now charged with two counts of murder. Investigators initially believed that the Hubbards died in the house fire, but they said later evidence showed that the couple was strangled to death, with Deborah Hubbard having a cord around her neck.
Sylvester spoke with 2 On Your Side a few days after the July killings. During the interview, he spoke glowingly of his mother.
"My mother was a good mother, she was a grandmother, she's a veteran," he said.
The couple lived in Buffalo, but after retiring, Deborah moved south and her husband was still living between Buffalo and Atlanta.
A few months later during the homicide investigation, Sylvester sent a text message to Channel 2 News Reporter Claudine Ewing when asked if there were any new developments in the case.
Here is an excerpt:
"The police here have not concluded their investigation yet but there's been a lot going on. I'm going to send you some information I want you to save it in case anything happens to me. I've been really scared and nervous please don't share this information on the media until the police here conclude their investigation."
"I don't know what's going to happen....I know that they (his step-father's relatives) are all pointing the finger at me since I was the only one from Buffalo still down here with them. I think they know someone who killed my mother for insurance money and her property and by pointing the finger at me they would have full access to my mothers estate."
Sylvester was arrested on December 29. He is due back in court on January 14 in Fulton County. He remains in jail.