A man who shot and killed his estranged wife outside an Augusta nursing home was sentenced to life in prison Thursday, the Augusta Chronicle reported.
Richard Lyle Timmons Jr., 30, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to malice murder for shooting Jazna Timmons outside the Georgia War Veterans Nursing Home in February 2018, the newspaper reported. She had filed for divorce three days prior.
He drove to the nursing home Feb. 9, and when she saw him, she turned around and tried to run away. He chased her and shot her once in the hip before standing over her and fatally shooting the 34-year-old woman in the head, AJC.com previously reported.
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In the divorce petition, she said she was in fear of Timmons, adding that he is bipolar, suffers from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and wouldn’t take his medication or go to counseling.
The Augusta Chronicle reported that when Timmons was 8, he witnessed his father kill his stepmother and two brothers, according to his defense attorney’s testimony in court. The triple homicide happened in New York City on June 8, 1997.
He also served in the military and survived a suicide bomber attack, according to his attorney, Jared Williams. It’s unclear which branch of the military he served in or when the attack took place.
In addition to surrendering his parental rights, he pleaded guilty to take responsibility instead of standing trial, Williams said.
Timmons was found and arrested the following week at an airport in Fort Worth, Texas, by the U.S. Marshals Service.
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He will be eligible for parole.
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