Man Convicted of Murder After Strangling Georgia Woman

A man in Villa Rica has been convicted today of strangling a middle aged woman to death, stealing her vehicle, and then disposing of her body on the side of a local road in Douglas County.

He was found guilty on counts of murder as well as theft by taking in Georgia. His trial took a full week, but the jury deliberation took less than two hours.

As a Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney, I will outline the law behind murder in today's post.

Murder in Georgia

Murder in Georgia is defined by Georgia Law in O.C.G.A. §16-5-1(a) as:

A person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, express or implied, causes the death of another human being.

Furthermore, Georgia Courts define malice as a wicked or corrupt motive or an intention to do evil and which the result is fatal and an unlawful objective to kill without justification or mitigation.

Express malice is the deliberate intention to unlawfully take the life of another human being, which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof. Malice shall be implied where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart.

The criminal offense of murder is classified as a felony in the state of Georgia. The penalty if convicted of murder is either life in prison without the possibility of parole, a life sentence, or the death penalty.

Practice Note

Regardless of the criminal offense - no one is to be assumed guilty just because he or she has been arrested for a crime in the state of Georgia.

If you have been arrested, contact a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer today.