In 2014, Joseph Andrew Felton Jr. spent nearly nine hours in a standoff with police after killing his wife, according to investigators. On Thursday, a Henry County jury took about 30 minutes to find him guilty of murder.
Felton, 51, was convicted of malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault, the Henry District Attorney’s Office said. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On March 15, 2014, Felton beat his wife to death in the couple’s Henry home before fleeing to Chicago. Family members called police after Sheray Felton didn’t return phone calls and failed to pick them up at the airport, investigators said.
Officers and family members found the woman dead inside the couple’s Hampton home. An autopsy later determined the 39-year-old died from blunt force trauma from her husband striking her and stabbing her, causing multiple injuries to her head and torso, according to prosecutors.
The following day in Chicago, officers attempted to stop Joseph Felton, who led them on a chase before crashing. He was arrested after a standoff that lasted nearly nine hours, police said at the time.
Sheray Felton’s sister said the couple had moved to Georgia from Illinois months earlier. Sheray Felton had planned to pursue her doctorate degree.
“We are pleased that the defendant has been held accountable for his brutal act of domestic violence against Sheray Felton,” District Attorney Darius Pattillo said in an emailed statement. “We hope that this verdict gives Ms. Felton’s family some sense of relief and closure as they grieve and continue to heal.”
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