Life without parole for man who strangled, murdered Woodstock girlfriend
A northwest Georgia man will spend the rest of his life in prison without parole after being convicted of murdering his girlfriend in her Cherokee County apartment, according to court records.
Michael Keith Russell, 42, of Ringgold, was sentenced Friday on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of methamphetamine, court records show. He was arrested March 3, 2017.
Woodstock police described Russell as the boyfriend of Christy Waller, 41, who he beat and strangled to death, according to the arrest warrants presented in court. Her body was found by her two children.
The warrant said he repeatedly hit “her face, neck and head with his hands, a laptop or pieces of a laptop and other unknown hard objects.”
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About the Author
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
