A former caregiver was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2013 beating death of a mentally challenged woman, the Newton County District Attorney’s Office said today.

Cornelius Richardson-Bethea was convicted of malice murder and abuse of a disabled adult in the death of 47-year-old Susan Walter. For each conviction, Richardson-Bethea received life sentences without parole, according to Melanie Bell, chief assistant DA for Newton County.

In March 2013, deputies were called to Richardson-Bethea's home in the 10000 block of Strathinge Trail near Covington, where they found Walter beaten to death, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.

“Deputies found the victim’s body with bruises all over … and around her head and shoulders,” a sheriff’s office spokeswoman previously said.

Walter was Richardson-Bethea’s only client, and there was no one else in the home when deputies arrived, authorities said. Walter’s death was ruled a homicide by blunt force trauma.

Richardson was arrested two days after police were called to the home.

About the Author

Keep Reading

A Korean Air plane takes off from Incheon International Airport in South Korea on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. The plane is chartered to bring back Korean workers detained in an immigration raid in Georgia. (Yonhap via AP)

Credit: AP

Featured

Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT