Victoria Rickman was sentenced to life without parole, plus five years, in DeKalb County court Thursday for killing her ex-lover.

A jury convicted the East Atlanta woman of murder last month, finding she made up a story about William James Carter Jr. raping her so she could get away with killing him. She did it with at least 10 gunshots to his back in September 2013.

The gun belonged to a Cobb County Sheriff's deputy who was a friend of Rickman.

Judge J. P. Boulee handed down the sentence.

Prosecutors argued Rickman wanted to kill Carter after he refused to drop a battery charge against her.

“If you want to know what malice murder looks like, this is what it looks like,” prosecutor Sheila Ross told the jury.

Like DeKalb County News Now on Facebook | Follow on Twitter

About the Author

Keep Reading

DeKalb County firefighter Preston Fant, 53, died while battling a commercial structure fire Sep. 8, officials said. (DeKalb County Fire Department)

Credit: DeKalb County Fire Department

Featured

Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT