Columbus police sergeant accused of shooting woman, charged with murder
A Columbus police sergeant has been charged with murder in connection with a woman’s fatal shooting, officials said.
Police said Sgt. William Leonard Talley, 51, shot and killed the woman during a domestic incident. He was arrested Saturday after he was involved in a wreck off Exit 30 on I-185 in Harris County, the Columbus Police Department said.
Officers were sent a home in the 5800 block of Pratt Avenue just before 8 p.m., according to the department.
When officers arrived, a person told them someone inside the house “had been either seriously injured or possibly killed.” That person also told police the person responsible for the shooting was employed by the Columbus Police Department and had been involved in a car wreck in Harris County.
Harris County sheriff’s deputies at the site of the wrecked vehicle arrested Talley. An ambulance then took him to Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital, where he was last listed in critical condition, investigators said.
Talley has been with the Columbus Police Department since July 2002, authorities said. He was not on duty at the time of the incident and is currently on leave without pay.
Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan identified the victim of the shooting as Kelly Levinsohn, 44, according to The Macon Telegraph.
Investigators said Talley was in Levinsohn’s car when he wrecked in Harris County, the newspaper reported.
Bryan said Levinsohn was a paramedic for Care Ambulance, according to the Telegraph.
“She was a wonderful person, always had a big smile,” Bryan told the newspaper. “I would see her on multiple scenes, and was always excited to see her.”
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About the Author
Asia Simone Burns is a watchdog reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.
