A man who shot and killed his girlfriend in front of a Spalding County church in 2020 will spend the rest of his life in prison, according to authorities.
Donald Eugene Colquitt, a 57-year-old Griffin man, was convicted of felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and theft by taking.
A jury found Colquitt guilty Monday, according to Marie Broder, district attorney for the Griffin Judicial Circuit.
Superior Court Judge Scott Ballard sentenced Colquitt to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the killing. The judge tacked on a 20-year sentence for the armed robbery conviction along with five years for the weapons offense.
Colquitt killed Munteshia Brown in the parking lot of Macedonia Baptist Church in July 2020. He then stole the 38-year-old woman’s car, cellphone and purse and fled to Mississippi.
“This case is tragic. Munteshia was on a path to redemption, changing her life, and severing ties with the defendant,” Broder said in a news release Tuesday. “She was a bright life who was so loved by her family. Because of her devotion to changing her life for the better, the defendant executed her in a church parking lot.”
Deputies found the woman’s body at the church, which is near Old Atlanta and Baptist Camp roads.
Investigators were able to locate Colquitt by tracking Brown’s stolen phone. He was arrested in Eupora, Mississippi, just two days after the shooting.
Colquitt testified during the five-day trial that he shot Brown in self-defense. Prosecutors used witnesses and officers from five law enforcement agencies across three states to prove his guilt. The Spalding County Sheriff’s Office investigated the homicide.
Broder noted that Colquitt had a lengthy history of domestic violence with Brown that dated back several years. He stabbed her in a Henry County hotel room in September 2019, then put a mattress over her and left her to die, the district attorney said. He stole her car, phone and purse in that incident as well, Broder indicated.
“Over the course of my career, I have tried too many cases where victims were murdered at the hand of their abusers,” she said. “I take these cases personally. I am tired of these violent deaths, and so are the citizens of Spalding County.”
