What did Allen Tayeh do? Georgia man arrested over divorce attorney’s death

Allen Tayeh, a Georgia native, is accused of fatally shooting his estranged wife’s divorce attorney in his office and setting it on fire before fleeing the scene.

According to officials, on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, Allen Tayeh went to his wife’s attorney, Doug Lewis’s office, and shot him to death before pouring gasoline all over the room and lighting the building on fire. Tayeh then fled the scene before firefighters arrived to extinguish the fire and discovered Lewis’s body.

Allen Tayeh was arrested after a witness outside the law office led investigators to the disgruntled husband, who was reportedly found with the revolver used to kill the lawyer. Officials said that Tayeh also had burn marks consistent with injuries sustained during the fire at the time of his arrest.

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Allen Tayeh was expected to meet the divorce attorney with his wife at a court hearing next week

Allen Tayeh was arrested on counts of malicious murder and arson shortly after he killed his estranged wife’s divorce attorney, who he was scheduled to encounter at a court hearing next week along with his wife.

Lawrenceville Police Lt. Jake Parker, who described the killing as “pretty brazen” and “out of the blue,” said that Allen Tayeh was arrested after a witness in the area pointed to the suspect. Tayeh was reportedly still in the vicinity when police arrived to arrest him on suspicion of murder. In a statement, Parker said:

“The suspect that was detained actually had injuries that were consistent with being in or near the fire. He had burns on his pants, and singed hair.”

He added:

“He did have a firearm on him, a revolver that had spent cartridges in the cylinders and there were gas cans and an odor of gasoline around the area as well.”

As per the New York Post, Tayeh’s wife had filed for divorce last year and had hired Doug Lewis to represent her in the proceedings.

Phil McCurdy, Lewis’s colleague, described the lawyer as a consummate gentleman who treated everyone with respect. He said:

“I never heard him raise his voice, I never saw him lose his temper. I never saw him treat anyone except with respect.”

McCurdy added:

“I don’t know anyone who didn’t respect him as a colleague, as a professional and as a human being.”

As per the Guardian, Jesse Kent, a former legal partner of Lewis, described the slain attorney as a devoted husband and father. Kent wrote in an email to the local station:

“He was the standard that all lawyers – including me – aspired to be. The legal profession will never be the same without him.”

As per the post, Lewis practiced law for thirty years in the Lawrenceville community located 30 miles from Atlanta.