On April 19th, 2023, Donald Staley, of Villa Rica, pled guilty to one count each of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, and Aggravated Assault. Pursuant to an agreement with the State, Superior Court
Judge John Simpson sentenced Mr. Staley to a life sentence, with the possibility of parole. Staley was born in 1942.
The investigation showed that on June 30th, 2022, Staley purchased a revolver and ammunition, drove home, placed a pillow over his wife, Judith Staley’s head, and shot her once. He then dialed
911 and said he’d shot his wife and was going to shoot himself. Officers with the Georgia State Patrol and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office responded and were able to take Staley into custody while
Judith was life-flighted to a trauma hospital. She later died of the gunshot wound. Staley gave two separate interviews to law enforcement, in which he admitted to having shot his wife and expressed no remorse for doing so.
Senior ADA Nathan Stewart prosecuted this case, with the assistance of DA Investigators Shannon Bramblett and Katia Detwiler. The case was investigated by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Kim Hope.