After 7 days of testimony and three hours of deliberations, a Peach County, Ga. jury found Demarcus Little guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault in the murder of Fort Valley State student Anitra Gunn.
The jury on Tuesday found Little not guilty of malice murder in the death of 23-year-old Anitra, whose body was found in a wooded area near Macon, Ga. on February 18, 2020.
A judge sentenced Little to life without the possibility of parole, according to 13wmaz.com.
RELATED: Man strangled Anitra Gunn because she laughed in his face when he told her he loved her
On March 11, the jury heard testimony from Little’s best friend Jaivon Abron, who said Little told him he choked Anitra to death on Valentine’s Day 2020 after she laughed in his face when he said he loved her.
Little allegedly told Abron that he “blacked out” and punched Anitra before strangling her. He said she fought back but eventually gave up, and Little felt she wanted to “go home to be with her mom,” who died in 2014.
“I don’t know what happened,” Little told Abron. “I had to get rid of her.”
Abron was arrested in February 2020 and charged with making false statements and one count of concealing a death.
Prosecutors say Little was dating 3 women in addition to Anitra.
Little took the stand in his own defense this week and referred to Anitra as his “soul mate”. He said they were working on their tumultuous relationship before she died.
After the verdict was read, the judge heard impact statements from Anitra’s family, according to 13wmaz.com.
“The defendant’s decision to put his hands around Anitra Gunn’s neck and watch the life leave her body, and take the life of a human being with no regards for the effects it may have on others is unimaginable and very devastating,” said her godmother. “The name of Anitra Gunn will not go away. We as a family will make sure of that.”
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