Background: News footage of James Wilson III in court for his sentencing hearing on Aug. 28 (WJBF). Inset: Virginia “Sue” Wilson (Beggs Funeral Home).
A Georgia man who pleaded guilty to shooting his wife in the head as she slept will spend more than a decade in prison.
On the morning of Sept. 7, 2022, James Wilson III, 77, called 911 to report the shooting and admitted to the McDuffie County Sheriff that he killed his wife. During a press conference held days after Wilson was arrested for the murder of his wife, 75-year-old Virginia “Sue” Wilson, Sheriff Logan Marshall said that he was one of the first to arrive at the scene. Marshall and his deputies were greeted by the sight of James Wilson in his front yard, on the ground, holding a gun to his chest.
Terry Lloyd, an Assistant District Attorney for the Toombs Judicial Circuit, recounted the confrontation in court on Thursday, saying that James Wilson reportedly told Marshall, “I done made a mess, I killed her.”
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According to Marshall, James Wilson also told him that “his wife was in the house.” At the scene, Marshall contacted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and turned the case over to their agency. GBI Special Agent in Charge Pat Morgan said that there was a brief standoff between James Wilson and authorities, but they were able to “peaceably” detain him and take him into custody.
James Wilson, who never provided a motive for killing his wife, was charged with murder and possession of a firearm while committing a felony.
His defense attorney, Grant Usry, argued for leniency, telling Judge Chip Hardin, “We are referring now to a man who is 77 years of age. He is in decent health at this moment. He is weak. He has a hard time managing his diet, his intake. He has a hard time understanding what’s even going on with his own body.”
Hardin accepted the plea deal on Thursday and sentenced James Wilson to 15 years in prison with no parole. After that, he will spend the next 20 years on probation.
