The Georgia Supreme Court upheld the murder conviction of a DeKalb County woman who was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of bludgeoning her husband to death.
A jury in 2017 found Pamela Lelieth Ballin guilty of killing Derrick Ballin, Sr. by striking him in the back of the head with a statue almost exactly 10 years ago.
She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, but appealed the conviction in the highly-publicized case. She argued the court should not have allowed evidence showing she stood to gain more than $1.2 million from two life insurance policies if her husband died.
In an opinion released Monday, the court allowed the conviction to stand, and that “evidence of insurance could be properly admitted where the State established some connection, or nexus, to the crime.”
Pamela Ballin, now 58, called 911 in the early morning hours of Dec. 29, 2009, and reported a home invasion at their Lithonia house. Police found Derrick Ballin lying at the bottom of the stairs, bleeding heavily. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead.
His wife of 24 years told police she heard him struggling with someone downstairs and ran into a closet to call 911.
But investigators began doubting her story after noticing that the home’s doors and windows were closed and locked, and the disarray in the house appeared staged. An expert later testified that Derrick Ballin had been sitting in a recliner when he was struck multiple times from behind, and was hit several more times at the bottom of the stairs.
Four years after the incident, Pamela Ballin was indicted on charges of malice murder, felony murder predicated on aggravated assault and aggravated assault.
She was first convicted of murder after a trial in 2014, but Judge Mark Anthony Scott decided to release her from custody, saying he wasn't sure she received a fair trial. A month later, he decided she had been treated fairly and ordered her arrested. She won a new trial, but was convicted again in May 2017. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years, the minimum sentence for the crime.
Follow DeKalb County News on Facebook and Twitter
In other news:
About the Author
