Local News

Man charged with killing wife returned to Georgia

March 8, 2012

The man accused of killing his young wife and then fleeing the state is now back in Clayton County, where he's facing a homicide charge.

Wisdom Jeffery, 39, was denied bond at his first court appearance Wednesday after being booked into the Clayton County Jail late Tuesday. Jeffery had been in a Cleveland, Ohio, jail following his arrest last month by U.S. marshals.

Investigators have said an episode of the TV show "America's Most Wanted" featuring Jeffery elicited a tip that led to his arrest for the August 2010 shooting death of Corissa Friends in the couple's Riverdale apartment.

Friends was 21 when she died. The couple's baby was 8 months old at the time of the shooting.

“[He] shot her point blank with a shotgun," Jerry Barnes, Clayton County deputy, told Channel 2 Action News. "This was the mother of his child. ... Luckily, the child was not in the house at the time."

Jeffery was arrested on a domestic violence charge on June 21, 2010, and told to stay away from Friends, according to previous AJC reports. On Aug. 11, Friends placed a call to 911; Jeffery was taken into custody and then released, according to police. But a few hours later, she called 911 again moments before being shot and killed.

“He ran for a long time, but eventually he was caught,” Barnes said.

Jeffery's next court appearance will be March 20 at 8 a.m.

About the Author

Alexis Stevens is a member of the Crime and Public Safety team.

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