The Gwinnett County woman accused of strangling a friend with an Ethernet cable and dumping her body near Lake Lanier will spend the rest of her life in prison.
A Gwinnett County jury convicted Amy Leann McGarity on Friday, finding her guilty of malice murder, three counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, concealing the death of another and various other charges. Judge Ronnie Batchelor sentenced her to life in prison without parole, plus five years.
McGarity had been accused in the July 2013 death of 20-year-old Kayla Weil.
According to information released by Gwinnett County police and the district attorney's office, Weil went to McGarity's Buford home sometime that month. After Weil passed out -- all parties involved were methamphetamine users, authorities have said -- McGarity and another man, Cody Williams, expressed their anger about her and said she had stolen from them. They bound Weil with zipties and "started talking about killing" her.
McGarity beat Weil with a handgun before strangling her with an Ethernet cable, officials said. Weil's body was dumped in a bathroom at Chestnut Ridge Park, a facility near Lake Lanier that had been closed to the public for years.
The body was found Oct. 24, 2013. McGarity was arrested in September 2014.
McGarity was tried last week alongside Cedric Lequay English, who was charged with concealing the death of another for his alleged role in hiding Weil's body. English ultimately entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to serve three years in prison.
Williams, the other co-defendant, was convicted on murder charges earlier this year and sentenced to life in prison.
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