A man was convicted of murdering his girlfriend after every moment of the shooting was caught on video.
James Telvie Samples, 36, was convicted Thursday of murdering 22-year-old Candace Michelle Welch outside his Madison County home on Sept. 11, 2015, the Athens Banner-Herald reports.
Madison County is about 80 miles east of Atlanta.
Though Samples initially told deputies the shooting was accidental, investigators found outdoor surveillance cameras and an indoor recorder that documented the entire incident.
Madison County Sheriff’s deputy Lt. Jimmy Patton said no doubt existed after the jury watched the footage, the newspaper reported.
Northern Circuit District Attorney Parks White described the video where Welsh walked out of the house carrying a backpack, purse and a bag of personal items as if she were leaving.
“You see him take a gun out of a black SUV, a 40-caliber handgun,” White said in court.
Samples then racked the weapon and aimed at Welch, White said.
Welch died almost instantly after being shot in the chest.
“He is probably about 30 yards away when he pulls the trigger,” the prosecutor said.
White told the jury he thought Samples reacted with guilt and immediately went to Welch and rushed her to hospital in Athens.
“It appears in the video, he immediately regretted his actions after she was shot,” White said.
Samples faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during a crime and possession of methamphetamine.
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