Georgia Criminal Defense Blog

An article discusses that the personal assistant of a punk-rock icon and celebrity real estate broker was convicted of beating her boss to death with a piece of gym equipment. The jury on the case spent less than a day reaching a second-degree murder verdict.

Prosecuting attorneys said the suspect had stolen over $30,000 from the victim, and then beat her to death to try and hide the crime. Her defense lawyers admitted she had stolen from her former boss, as well as at least one other employer at a prior job, but they denied she murdered her boss. The 28-year-old woman's attorney said in closing arguments that police officers coerced his client into a false confession after more than 12 hours of questioning.

In the beginning of the questioning, the suspect claimed she had no knowledge of the killing. She later blamed it on a masked intruder who told her not to report it. Finally, she gave her videotaped confession of beating the victim to death with a piece of gym equipment after the boss had harangued her lack of productivity and blowing marijuana smoke at her face. The coroner later determined there was no marijuana in the victim’s body when she died, and she suffered many more than the approximately six blows she described.

Continue reading "NYC Personal Assistant Convicted in Ex-Punk Manager Killing" »

An ajc.com article reports that the McEachern High School football star dialed 911 when his family was being held captive by his mother’s ex-boyfriend. Just after 2 a.m., the man allegedly broke into their house armed with a .22 caliber revolver. He then demanded that his ex-girlfriend gather up all the cell phones in the house and he led two adults and two children into the bathroom.

A 14-year-old daughter was able to sneak her phone into the bathroom where the victim made the call to police. Within a few minutes, the police arrived. The suspect instructed the girl to send the police away, but she ran out the front door and told officers what was happening inside. The suspect went back to the bathroom and started shooting at random. The mother and one child escaped unhurt, a male adult was shot in the stomach and the son was shot in the chest. He never got out of the bathroom. Police found him on the floor by the suspect, who had turned the gun on himself.

Murder is considered to be one of the most heinous crimes. For this reason, those accused of murder could face severe punishments including life imprisonment, the death penalty, fines, and other punishments and penalties. An experienced and aggressive Georgia criminal law attorney will use numerous defenses in a murder case to improve the outcome. Murder defenses that may be used in a trial include self-defense, insufficient proof or evidence, factual innocence, insanity, and more.

Continue reading "Police Release New Details in Student's Murder" »

The Aiken Standard reports that an Evans, Ga., man was arrested on charges that he attempted to lure a 14-year-old girl he met on the internet to meet him for sex. According to South Carolina's attorney general, the man was arrested on February 18, 2010 during an Internet predator investigation conducted by the Aiken County Sheriff's Office. The man was cited with criminal solicitation of a minor, which is a felony offense that can lead to up to 10 years of jail time.

The arrest warrant indicates that beginning in mid-January, 2010 the man used MySpace to make arrangements to meet with a person identifying herself as a 14-year-old girl for the purpose of a sexual tryst. The situation was turned over to the Aiken County Sheriff's Office before any encounter took place. A subsequent inquiry to MySpace provided information which lead to the suspect. The Columbia County Sheriff's Office served a search warrant at the man's home and deputies removed three computers.

Continue reading "Police Nab Georgia Man on Internet Sex Charges" »