Falicia Blakely Murders 3 In Georgia

Falicia Blakely is a killer from Georgia who was convicted of the murders of three men

According to court documents Falicia Blakely was working as a stripper when she decided it would be an easier way to make money by luring in men, robbing and then killing them

The first two victims were Raymond Goodwin, 34, and Claudell “Doc” Christmas, 35, who were found dead inside of Goodwin apartment by his sister. Both men were fatally shot and robbed

Lemetrius “Meechy” Twitty, 29, was found dead inside of his apartment and he was killed by fatal gunfire by the gun that had killed Goodwin and Christmas

Falicia Blakely was seen with each of the murder victims before their demise and was questioned by police where she freely admitted to killing the trio

Falicia Blakely would be arrested, pleaded guilty to three counts of murder to avoid the death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison

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https://youtu.be/GvR4IhUbow8?si=zm-ACnG80pKZdLQL

Falicia Blakely Case

A “cold-blooded” woman, doing whatever was necessary to get money — including murder. That’s how police described Falicia Blakely, who pleaded guilty to killing three men and robbing several fast-food spots in Atlanta.

Falicia Blakely’s crime spree was documented in Snapped, airing on Oxygen at 6/5c on Sundays — but was she also a victim herself?

The bodies of Raymond Goodwin, 34, and Claudell “Doc” Christmas, 35, were discovered in Goodwin’s apartment by his sister and friend on August 15, 2002. Police said they were the victims of what they believed to be innocent partying.

“These men were just easy to lure in,” Nicole Redlinger, Cumming Police Sergeant, told Snapped. “They’re at these clubs, they’re spending money, they’re trying to have a good time and they meet these pretty ladies.”

It all started when Cariletta “Smokey” Jones, Goodwin’s sister, got a phone call from “G,” one of Christmas’ friends.

“’G’ was like, ‘Hey, I was on the phone with ‘Doc,’ and I heard gunshots,’ and something like he couldn’t breathe or something like that,” Jones told Snapped. “He said I did hear some female voices in the back saying, ‘Get the money, get the money.’”

When she was unable to reach her brother or “Doc” on the phone, Jones went over to the apartment to investigate herself. That’s when she and a friend found the bodies.

“Finding my brother dead, that changed my life forever,” Jones said. “Everything was rushing through my head. Who, what, when, why. I just broke down crying. We couldn’t wrap our minds around it.”

Police found no signs of forced entry at Goodwin’s apartment and no signs of a struggle. Goodwin had a gunshot to the head as well as several more in his abdomen. Christmas died of a single shot to the head.

Seven bullets were fired, and police found .32 caliber shells, which come from a smaller gun, usually carried by females.

Both Jones and Goodwin were part of Atlanta’s adult entertainment industry. Jones was a dancer, and Goodwin, an avid photographer, began taking photos of dancers to help them market themselves with portfolios. Jones told officers robbery may have been a possible motive, as Goodwin had a lot of expensive photography equipment, and both he and Christmas were known to carry large amounts of cash.

Money from each man’s wallet was missing at the murder scene.

“During this timeframe, the adult entertainment industry was booming,” Redlinger said. “People would want to rob the men knowing they had a lot of cash going into these clubs. They started to have a lot more robberies within our city. And they were being committed by females.”

Two days later, Lemetrius “Meechy” Twitty, 29, was found shot and killed in his Atlanta apartment. Police discovered the same .32 caliber shell casings found in Goodwin’s apartment. Cash was missing from Twitty’s apartment, as well as his gold Nissan Maxima.

“The fact that the same caliber, which was an unusual caliber, was used, it would not be far from saying the same individual committed all three murders,” Todd Merrifield, a former Dekalb Co. police lieutenant, told Snapped.

Twitty ran in the same circles as Jones, Goodwin, and Christmas.

“We heard he got killed so we were like, ‘What the hell?’” Jones said. “You know, what the heck is going on? I was shocked — I could not believe it. We actually just were so scared, you know what I mean — we got a serial killer out here?”

Goodwin’s girlfriend told police the night of the murder, Goodwin and Christmas were hanging out with strippers, known only as “Peaches” and “Snow.” But finding the women proved difficult. Jones believed she had met the women at a yacht party a few weeks before the murders. She decided to try and help in the investigation.

Because she was a known dancer in Atlanta’s clubs, a few strip clubs allowed her to look at their permit books, where records of dancers were kept. Jones was able to recognize and identify the dancer known as “Peaches,” but still, police were unable to locate “Peaches.”

But police got a break when, 10 days after the murders, someone called 911 to report suspicious women in the lobby of a Mrs. Winner’s Chicken & Biscuits. There had been a series of armed robberies at Mrs. Winner’s locations all over Atlanta, and the workers at the restaurants had been warned.

When police arrived, they found three women hiding in the bathroom, including Falicia “Peaches” Blakely, 18, and Armeshia “Snow” Ervin, 20. A run of the tags on the vehicle they drove to the restaurant showed it matched Twitty’s missing Nissan Maxima.

Police said the women also tried to get rid of guns in the restaurant bathroom toilet tank — and one was a .32 caliber, the same handgun used in the murders.

When detectives interviewed Falicia Blakely, she admitted to killing Goodwin, Christmas, and Twitty.

“Ms. Blakely, her statement was remarkably candid,” Tom Clegg, prosecutor, told Snapped. “This was a girl who is being charged with three different murders and just lays it all out. She didn’t sugarcoat it.”

Falicia Blakely told police she and Ervin met Goodwin through his photography business, and they believed he had money. They went there with the intent to rob him — taking about a thousand dollars in cash. After murdering the two men, Blakely and Ervin went out to clubs that night, where they met Twitty, who they also believed had money. When Twitty invited the women back to his apartment, Blakely admitted to shooting and killing him, and taking $650 in cash, as well as his car.

“This is one cold-blooded female,” Merrifield said. “That just does what she needs to do and does what she wants to do. I don’t know if I’d ever seen anything like that.”

But Falicia Blakely also provided a defense for her actions, telling officers her pimp, Mike Berry, allegedly forced her to rob and kill the men. Blakely had met Berry a few years before, as a pregnant dancer.

“This was everything she probably ever wanted, that was what she saw in Mike Berry,” Redlinger said. “He was giving her love, spending time with her, buying her things — coats and cars. Then offering to take the role of being this baby’s father. He was much older than her. He made all these promises to her … he just sold this huge pipe dream. And Falicia bought into it.”

Falicia Blakely eventually lost custody of her baby to her mother and resumed stripping, and according to her, being a prostitute for Berry. That led to murder and robbery. Blakely insinuated Berry thought of her as his “property.”

Blakely’s defense attorneys tried to paint Berry as the real bad guy, arguing Blakely was being used and a victim herself. But Berry admitted no involvement in police interviews, and Ervin didn’t back up Blakely’s accusations. He was never charged with any crimes related to the robberies and murders.

In 2004, Falicia Blakely took a plea deal to avoid trial as well as the death penalty and is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Armeisha Ervin also took a plea deal and is eligible for parole in 2027.

Goodwin’s family said even if Falicia Blakely was a victim of her pimp, it doesn’t make a difference to them.

“I was like, ‘Thank you, God,’” Jones said. “This girl is off the street and she can no longer hurt anybody else. Falicia could have made different choices. You did what you did because that was the person that you are on the inside.”

https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-news/atlanta-stripper-falicia-blakely-kills-robs-3-men

Teresa Kohnle Murders Husband In Fatal Fire

Teresa Kohnle is a killer from Georgia who was convicted in the murder of her husband James Kohnle

According to court documents the marriage between Teresa Kohnle and her husband James Kohnle was falling apart. In the weeks before the murder Teresa would take out a large insurance policy on her husband

Teresa Kohnle would remove a number of personal items from the home before spreading a flammable liquid around the home and setting it on fire. James Kohnle would die from smoke inhalation

Teresa Kohnle would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison

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Teresa Kohnle Case

When her husband Jim died in a house fire, Teresa Kohnle told police they had “a wonderful marriage.” The facts, however, painted a very different picture. 

James “Jim” Kohnle was born into affluence. His grandfather, ​​Fred Kohnle, founded Monarch Marking Systems and invented one of the first price tag machines. Rather than go into the family business, Jim became a chiropractor, setting up a successful practice in northern Georgia.

“When he worked on you, you felt good just being around him. Jim was the kindest, most gentle man you’ll ever meet in your life,” friend and former employee Bonnie White told “Snapped,” airing Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen.

As his practice grew, Jim hired 21-year-old Teresa Boggs to work the front desk. Despite a 20-year age difference, they started dating and fell in love.

In 1996, Jim and Teresa had a son together, Caleb. A year later they married and opened up the Alpha Wellness Center in Dalton, Georgia, where Teresa worked as a massage therapist. Daughter Allison arrived in 2000 and the family moved into a spacious home in Ringgold, Georgia.

But then, on the morning of June 29, 2007, a man on his way to work saw smoke rising from the Kohnle family home and called 911. Firefighters arrived at 9:42 a.m. and decided to go in.

“Visibility was pretty low. We made it to the back bedroom. We realized that was the fire room,” former Catoosa County Firefighter Drew Hood told “Snapped.”

Using a thermal imaging camera, firefighters detected a body on the floor behind the bed. It was Jim Kohnle, dead at 57.

“The arson investigator decided the origin of the fire was along a common wall between the office and the bedroom where the victim was found,” former prosecutor Buzz Franklin told “Snapped.”

Teresa was out of town when authorities notified her of her husband’s death. She returned home that afternoon and told authorities she had left for Knoxville, Tennessee at 8:15 a.m., stopping off at Chick-fil-A for food along the way. She was accompanied by her son Caleb and a friend, Robin.

While Robin’s account mostly matched up with Teresa’s, she said they left a half hour later, at 8:45.

As investigators continued their examination of the Kohnes’ home, a specially-trained dog named Smoky was brought in.

“He found the presence of an accelerant placed in that location where he determined the fire had originated,” said Franklin. “It was pretty clear it was an arson as opposed to an accidental origin for the fire.”

Investigators interviewed Teresa on July 5, seeking an exact chronology for the events of June 29. In her videotaped interview, which was obtained by “Snapped,” she told investigators, “I love my husband more than life itself.”

Teresa Kohnle said at the time of Jim’s death, they were experiencing financial difficulties, the result of her husband contracting Lyme disease several years earlier. They had fallen behind on their mortgage and both their cars had been repossessed.

“Stress got worse for him and everything went bad. He was depressed,” said Teresa.

Jim’s friends and associates confirmed that as Jim’s health got worse, he became unable to work and the business began to falter.

“The fact that things were happening the way they were for my dad killed him inside. The fact that he felt he couldn’t take care of his family was more than he could take,” son Caleb told “Snapped.”

Insurance agent Tom Drew contacted authorities to say he had recently received a handwritten letter from Jim, in which he indicated he was contemplating suicide, according to local news website The Chattanoogan.

However, investigators found it hard to believe that Jim would choose self-immolation as a means to take his own life.

“I’ve never seen anyone intentionally commit suicide by fire. It seems to be a real stretch. If you’re going to commit suicide, there are a lots easier ways to do it,” said Franklin.

An autopsy revealed Jim Kohnle died from smoke inhalation, according to Georgia’s Rome News-Tribune newspaper. It also showed the presence of anti-depressants and sedatives in his bloodstream. Burn marks on the soles of Kohnle’s feet indicated he tried to stamp out the fire.

“These things don’t quite add up to somebody who was going to kill themselves and do so by fire,” forensic psychologist Dr. Nameeta Sahni told “Snapped.”

Following the autopsy, Jim’s death was ruled a homicide.

Employees at the Alpha Wellness Center told investigators there were rumors of infidelity in the Kohnles’ marriage.

“Everybody kind of knew it. Her affairs had been going on for a while but it got worse as time went on,” said White.

Detectives re-interviewed Robin about the discrepancies between her and Teresa’s timelines. She claimed that after loading the kids into the car, Teresa went back inside the house and didn’t return for 15 to 20 minutes.

Investigators obtained footage from Chick-fil-A which showed Teresa and the kids arriving at 9:17 a.m. on the morning of the fire. The Kohnle home was less than 10 minutes away by car.

“As the officers kept investigating the timeline, they discovered Teresa Kohnle would have been at the house about the time the fire started,” said Buzz Franklin.

Police obtained a search warrant for the Kohnles’ home. They discovered that many of the family’s personal belongings had been moved in an exterior garage.

“She had taken stuff that arsonists take, pictures of the children, stuff that you can’t replace,” former Fort Oglethorpe Police Detective Lt. David Scroggins told “Snapped.”

Investigators also found a life insurance policy in Jim’s name that stated Teresa Kohnle was the beneficiary as well as an insurance policy on the home.

“There were also some divorce papers that apparently had never been filed that were found there in the residence,” said Franklin.

Investigators learned that several months earlier, Teresa suffered a miscarriage. She subsequently became depressed and began abusing drugs.

“According to people who worked at Dr. Kohnle’s office, she was using marijuana and methamphetamine,” said Franklin.

Around that time, White, who did accounting work for Alpha Wellness Center, discovered Teresa Kohnle had been embezzling money from the business.

“One month she had wrote 16 checks to herself. [Jim] confronted her in front of me and she said, ‘No, those checks are voided.’ And I said, ‘Well, voided checks don’t clear the bank. Here’s the bank statement. They’re highlighted,’” said White.

Other employees of the Kohnles claimed Teresa told them she had been putting lithium in Jim’s coffee to sedate him.

“Dr. Kohnle himself had suspected that she’s doing this and has told people that he thinks Teresa has been drugging him,” said Franklin.

On her second interview with detectives, Teresa Kohnle agreed to take a polygraph test.

“The computer indicated her level of deception was in excess of 100%,” said Scroggins.

After being confronted with the results of her lie detector test, Teresa was seemingly ready to talk.

“He told me he wanted to die and he told me to leave the house and he said, ‘Don’t ask me no more questions,’” Teresa tells Scroggins in her videotaped interview, which was obtained by “Snapped.”

Scroggins confronted Teresa Kohnle with evidence from her cell phone which showed that the first person she called after learning of Jim’s death was her insurance agent.

“Does that not strike you as a bit strange?” he asks.

“I know he done it. I can’t prove he done it but I can prove, I can’t prove I didn’t do it, but I know I didn’t start it,” Teresa says.

On July 9, 2007, Teresa Kohnle, 34, was charged with felony murder and first-degree arson in the death of James Kohnle, 57, according to North Georgia’s WDUN radio station.

Following their mother’s arrest, 6-year-old Allison and 11-year-old Caleb Kohnle were placed in the care of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. Caleb was interviewed by detectives on July 16.

Caleb said that on the morning of his father’s death, he got in the car with his sister and Robin while his mother went back inside the house. After Teresa returned to the car, he noticed smoke.

“I said, ‘Mama, look! I think the house is on fire.’ She goes, ‘No, that’s just some burning papers,’” Caleb tells investigators in his taped statement to police, which was obtained by “Snapped.”

Though Caleb says his parents often burned trash behind the house, investigators believed it was unlikely Teresa decided to do so right before leaving for the day. More likely, they contended, was that she drugged her husband that morning and set fire to the bedroom as he lay in bed.

Two days before her trial was to begin in December 2010, Teresa Kohnle pleaded guilty to felony murder. At her sentencing, she claimed she assisted in her husband’s suicide in order to “ease financial burden.”

“I lit two candles like he wanted me to, and I walked away with no questions,” Kohnle said, according to North Georgia’s Dalton Daily Citizen newspaper.

Teresa Kohnle was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. She will first be eligible in 2041 at the age of 67.

For more on this case and others like it, watch “Snapped,” airing Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen or stream episodes here.

https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-news/teresa-kohnle-convicted-in-house-fire-death-of-husband-jim

Eric Whitehead Murders Sleeping Stepsister

Eric Whitehead was a fourteen year old teen killer from Georgia who would murder his sleeping stepsister

According to court documents Eric Whitehead and his stepsister Trish Troglen would get into an argument that ended with a way that Whitehead did not like. While Trish Troglen would take a nap on the couch Eric would go and grab a gun and shoot Trish Troglen multiple times while she slept

Eric Whitehead would be arrested, plead guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison

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Eric Whitehead Case

A 15-year-old Georgia boy was sentenced to life in prison Friday after pleading guilty to murder after shooting his stepsister in the head 10 times while she was asleep on the couch.

Eric Whitehead, then 14, told investigators he had a dream Aug. 7, 2009 that he and his 22-year-old sister, Trish Troglen, were arguing, reports CBS affiliate WRDW. Whitehead reportedly woke up enraged, took a rifle from his stepfather’s room, and shot his stepsister in the head 10 times while she was napping on the sofa.

Judge Sheryl Jolly sentenced Whitehead to life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to The Augusta Chronicle. He was charged as an adult and may be eligible for parole in 30 years.

Whitehead, who had a tendency to run away and get into trouble, was temporarily staying with his stepfather at the time of the shooting, reports the Chronicle.

Shortly after the shooting, investigators said Whitehead told them he considered Troglen to be his best friend.

Investigators say Whitehead had a history of psychiatric problems. Following the fatal incident he underwent two mental examinations – both found him competent to stand trial, Assistant District Attorney Hank Syms told the Chronicle.

Whitehead’s biological father told WRDW that he believed “teenage hormones and peer pressures led to all that went wrong.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eric-whitehead-ga-teen-gets-life-in-prison-for-deadly-shooting-of-sleeping-stepsister/

Eric Whitehead News

A teenager has pleaded guilty to fatally shooting his stepsister 10 times in the head after awaking from a dream in which they were arguing.

Eric Leigh Whitehead, now 15, was sentenced Friday by Judge Sheryl Jolly to life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to Richmond County Sheriff’s Sgt. James Kelly, who was the lead investigator on the case.

“He’ll have to serve at least 30 (years) before he comes up for a parole hearing,” Kelly said.

Whitehead was 14 at the time of the shooting, which occurred Aug. 7, 2009, at the victim’s home in the 5000 block of Neely Road in Hephzibah.

Patricia Troglen, 22, was asleep on the couch when Whitehead shot her repeatedly in the head with his stepfather’s .22-caliber rifle.

Whitehead was charged as an adult in the case, which, if he had not pleaded guilty, would have gone to trial this week.

At the time of the slaying, Whitehead had been staying temporarily at the home of his stepfather — the victim’s father — because he had been caught trying to run away from his mother’s Martinez home, said Assistant District Attorney Hank Syms, who prosecuted the case

Whitehead’s stepfather, Charles Troglen, had raised Whitehead from a little boy, but by the time of the shooting he and Whitehead’s mother had split, Syms said.

In interviews with police after the killing, Whitehead said he and his stepsister had an argument over washing dishes. Shortly after, Whitehead had a dream about the argument, became enraged, took the gun from his stepfather’s room and shot Troglen.

“He never did really give a recorded statement that he remembered doing the shooting,” Syms said. “He basically said that he was angry when he woke up and really, when he came to his senses, he had the gun in his hand standing over Patricia Troglen with her blood on him.”

The suspect underwent two mental evaluations — one by doctors at East Central Regional Hospital in Augusta and another by a doctor hired by his attorney — and both found him competent to stand trial, Syms said.

In Georgia, those sentenced to life in prison must serve 30 years before they are eligible for parole.

Eric Whitehead has been incarcerated at a youth detention facility but he will soon be transferred into the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections, where he will be held at the Burress Correctional Training Center in Forsyth, according to District Attorney Ashley Wright.

https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/news/2011/02/08/teenager-pleads-guilty-shooting/14558137007/

Richard Merritt Murders Mother Shirley Merritt

Richard Merritt is a killer from Georgia who was convicted of the murder of his mother Shirley Merritt

According to court documents Richard Merritt was once a lawyer however instead of helping his clients he would begin to steal from them. This action would lead to him being disbarred and facing fraud charges

On the day he was suppose to turn himself in and start to serve a fifteen year federal prison sentence for fraud Richard Merritt would stab and then beat to death his mother Shirley Merritt with a dumbbell and then go on the run

Eventually Richard Merritt would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison

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MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
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Richard Merritt Case

A jury convicted a disgraced metro Atlanta attorney Wednesday of malice murder, the most serious murder charge in Georgia, and five other charges in the 2019 stabbing death of his mother.

And a judge ensured Richard Merritt will spend the rest of his life behind bars, sentencing him to life in prison without parole plus five years.

A jury convicted a disgraced metro Atlanta attorney Wednesday of malice murder, the most serious murder charge in Georgia, and five other charges in the 2019 stabbing death of his mother.

And a judge ensured Richard Merritt will spend the rest of his life behind bars, sentencing him to life in prison without parole plus five years.

Richard Merritt’s full verdict

Count 1: Malice murder - guilty
Count 2: Felony murder - guilty
Count 3: Felony murder - guilty
Count 4: Aggravated assault - guilty
Count 5: Aggravated assault - guilty
Count 6: Possession of knife during the commission of a felony - guilty

“Words aren’t gonna do any good and I just want my family to know as I sit here now, that I wish none of us had to go through it and endure the pain of this entire court hearing, and I hope one day when they’re ready, if they’re ready, that I am blessed to have them at one point in my life,” Merritt said.

Merritt first made headlines during a nationwide manhunt after he skipped out on a Cobb County jail sentence that escalated into a murder investigation for his mother, 77-year-old Shirley Merritt.

In January 2019, Merritt had originally pleaded guilty to theft, forgery and elder exploitation charges related to deceptive actions he made against 17 of his former clients. Prosecutors said he settled malpractice suits without telling his clients and then would pocket the money for himself.

After he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, the judge gave him time to get his affairs in order before he had to report to the Cobb County Jail on Feb. 1, 2019. Instead of turning himself in, authorities said he cut off his ankle monitor, stabbed his mother to death, and took off in her SUV. Police found Shirley Merritt dead on Feb. 2, 2019, in her DeKalb County home.

Merritt, now 49 years old, managed to evade investigators for nearly eight months, taking on a new persona, working a new job and living a double life just a state over. He was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sept. 30, 2019.

His conviction now adds to his original 15-year sentence on theft and forgery charges.

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/crime/trials/richard-merritt-guilty-murder-mothers-death-2019/85-515224f3-1130-419f-9211-5f08b7417a8c

Hannah Payne Murders Kenneth Herring

Hannah Payne is a killer from Georgia who was convicted of the murder of Kenneth Herring

According to court documents Hannah Payne would witness a minor traffic accident in which the person who caused the accident, Kenneth Herring, would eventually drive away. Payne would chase down Kenneth Herring in her own vehicle.

Now Payne would say that Kenneth Herring was impaired whereas other witnesses believed he was suffering a medical emergency. Regardless when Payne would catch up with Kenneth Herring she would fatally shoot the sixty two year old man.

Hannah would tell the jury that the gun would fire by accident as the two struggled with the weapon

Hannah Payne would be convicted of murder and is now awaiting sentencing

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Hannah Payne Case

A 24-year-old Georgia woman was found responsible for killing a stranger during a citizen’s arrest gone fatally awry several years ago.

Hannah Payne hung her head and cried as the verdict was read aloud in the courtroom in a case overseen by Judge Jewel C. Scott.

After deliberating for roughly 90 minutes, 12 Peach State jurors determined Hannah Payne unlawfully attacked and murdered Kenneth Herring, 62, who was shot and killed following a minor traffic accident he is assumed to have caused on May 7, 2019.

Hannah Payne faced two counts of felony murder, three counts of possession of a weapon during a crime, and one count each of malice murder, aggravated assault, and false imprisonment. She was found guilty of each and every count. She is set to be sentenced on Friday.

“Kenneth Herring, who was unarmed and minding his own business, was chased down, detained, shot, and murdered,” the lead prosecutor said during the state’s closing arguments on Tuesday afternoon. “You don’t get the death penalty for committing a traffic offense.”

Taking the stand in a gambled effort to augment her defense, Hannah Payne admittedly never drew her often-hip-holstered weapon before the day of the hit-and-run that altered so many lives in Clayton County. But, Payne insisted during her testimony on Dec. 11 that she never meant for her brandished handgun to fire a bullet. Rather, she argued, he shot himself during a struggle for the weapon.

She was partially responsible for the law enforcement response on the day that Herring was killed.

Hannah Payne and a semi-truck had a green light when Herring breezed through a red light in his Dodge Dakota pickup truck, causing a minor crash with the semi-truck. Testimony at an earlier hearing suggested that Herring stayed at the scene of the crash for roughly 15 to 20 minutes before ultimately getting back in his truck and driving away.

She was not involved in the initial crash, pulled over and called 911, she testified on Monday.

A witness — a state corrections officer with medic training — also saw the crash and came up to speak to Herring, a detective previously testified. Based on his training, the witness suggested Herring was having a medical emergency — a diabetic shock or something of that nature. For example, Herring was disoriented, displayed red-orange eyes, and had walked around his truck several times.

But Payne thought Herring was drunk.

In her testimony, the defendant said that at various points, she was talking with the truck driver, the truck driver’s employer via his in-truck dispatch radio, and the 911 dispatcher to share information about the crash — principally about the alleged red-light runner being at fault.

“We were kind of just standing there waiting for the police to arrive,” Payne testified.

At one point, the other witness flashed a badge on his breast and identified himself as a “state officer,” the defendant said. Payne did not know the other witness was only a correctional officer “until months later” when informed by her attorney, she testified.

“He’s OK, but he’s definitely inebriated,” the officer allegedly said at one point, Payne testified. This alleged claim prompted her and the semi-truck driver to ask at the same time: “Do you mean he’s drunk?”

After Herring left the initial crash site, however, Hannah Payne had settled on the idea that he was drunk. She got back into her Jeep and pursued Herring despite being told at least once by 911 not to do so.

“I saw him stopped in the turning lane, so I turned as well,” Payne testified. “When I stopped, I was under the impression, with having 911 on the phone, that I could be a messenger.”

Hannah Payne said she initially only intended to get the driver’s license plate information, which she said the 911 dispatcher had asked of her.

The state argued the audio from the 911 call shows the dispatcher was adamant that Payne not pursue Herring. The audio is also clear the defendant was adamant she was going to go after him.

“He is drunk. I’m not,” Payne told the dispatcher before the fatal confrontation. “I’m sorry, but I’m here to tell you I’m not not going to follow him because he is going to cause an accident.”

The defendant claims she got out of her vehicle at an intersection and walked up to Herring — to get him to return to the crash site. What happened next is murky. But once Payne and Herring were within reaching distance, the calculus shifted, and a life was quickly lost.

After the two shouted at one another for a few moments, Herring reached out of his truck and grabbed her, Payne testified on Monday. She claims he ripped her shirt with the grab and eventually “mashed the gas,” briefly dragging her forward with his car.

Payne said she never stopped trying to pull away from Herring and eventually announced that she had a gun to try and get her alleged assailant to let her go. That’s when Payne admittedly drew the gun.

“I pulled it out and immediately started trying to just continue to push against the door with it — like push it away from him” she testified. Then, she said: “He grabbed my hand with the gun in it.”

All the while, the defendant said, she screamed for Herring to stop.

“As he’s pulling it is when it — the trigger went off,” she testified. “After it went off, my entire body kind of fell backwards.”

The state, on the other hand, proved during trial, relying on witness testimony and recordings, that Payne actually cut Herring off with her car, then jumped out and “very aggressively” ran up to Herring’s car, cursed at him, immediately started punching the confused man through his window, took out her gun, threatened to shoot him twice, and “immediately” shot him.

Payne was initially charged with one count of murder. She made $100,000 bond in late May 2019. By mid-June of that year, she was charged with several additional felony counts, and her bond was revoked.

“She’s using deadly force; she wasn’t faced with deadly force,” District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson said at the time of her initial murder charge. “You cannot claim self-defense and use deadly force unless you’re not the initial aggressor — she is.”