1993. Man sentenced to life for killing two women and an infant boy.
Brunswick, GA -- A man was sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to killing two women and an infant boy in 1993.
Carl Harris responded, ''yes, I'm guilty,'' when asked by court authorities if he murdered 33-year-old Cheryl Lewrisey Coleman; her son, Jamar'ee Coleman; and 52-year-old Essie Marie Dowdy over a five-month period.
Harris, 60, pleaded guilty to malice murder in each of the slayings. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in the attempted strangulation of a third woman, Rhonda Baskin, during the same time period.
Superior Court Judge Amanda F. Williams sentenced Harris to life without parole for each of the killings and to 20 years in prison for the aggravated assault. The sentences will run concurrently.
''Realistically, Mr. Harris will never come out of prison,'' District Attorney Steve Kelley said.
Diagnosed as borderline mentally retarded and in poor health, Harris has been jailed without bond at the Glynn County Detention Center awaiting trial since his arrest.
Harris, who has a record of violent crimes dating back to 1953, could have been sentenced to die in Georgia's electric chair if a jury had convicted him of the triple slaying.
Harris previously has been convicted of armed robbery, aggravated assault with intent to rape, escape and burglary, according to court and Georgia prison records.
In exchange for Harris' guilty pleas in the slayings, prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty. Prosecutors also dismissed a second aggravated assault charge against Harris that stemmed from the attack on Baskin.
Kelley said the plea bargain ensures Harris would not be back on the streets to harm anyone else. Other key factors in the decision were Harris' age, failing health and mental condition, Kelley said.
''It was the right thing to do in the best interest of justice,'' Kelley said.
Kelley said he also considered the possible cost to taxpayers of the death penalty trial, which the judge previously ruled required a change of venue because of extensive publicity about the case in the five-county Brunswick Judicial Circuit.
Because Georgia law does not allow mentally retarded people to be executed, if he had received the death penalty, it might have been later reduced to a life sentence upon appeal, Kelley said.
Capt. Chris Stewart of the Brunswick Police Department, who led a multi-agency homicide task force that investigated the triple slaying and ultimately arrested Harris, said he was satisfied with the outcome of the case.
''It serves the best interest of the victims' families, the community and the justice system,'' Stewart said.
The Brunswick slayings rocked Southeast Georgia prompting law enforcement officials to warn residents at the time not to give rides to strangers or allow them inside their homes.
On July 24, 1993, police recovered Coleman's nude and mutilated body at Academy Creek - a snake- and alligator infested waterway and salt marsh near downtown Brunswick. Jamar'ee never was found despite an exhaustive land, air and water search by authorities.
On Nov. 29, 1993, police found Dowdy, who had been strangled, in a drainage ditch behind Greenwood Cemetery about a half mile north of Academy Creek.
Harris attacked Baskin, who police said was an acquaintance, on Oct. 15, 1993. Harris tried to strangle her with a piece of rope, court documents show.
Harris, who had no permanent address, confessed to the slayings when questioned by police after his arrest.
Harris told investigators he killed Coleman and Dowdy, who were his friends, because he ''just kind of snapped.'' The attack on Baskin also was because he ''snapped,'' Harris told police.
Until the sentencing, Harris denied responsibility for the death of Jamar'ee, whose body was never found.
''He [Harris] had made references [to police] that he had left the baby laying on the edge of the water,'' said Kelley, noting that it was possible that high tides in the area swept the infant away.
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1: 1993. Man sentenced to life for killing two women and an infant boy.
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19: Brunswick, GA -- A man was sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to killing two women and an infant boy in 1993.
Carl Harris responded, ''yes, I'm guilty,'' when asked by court authorities if he murdered 33-year-old Cheryl Lewrisey Coleman; her son, Jamar'ee Coleman; and 52-year-old Essie Marie Dowdy over a five-month period.
Harris, 60, pleaded guilty to malice murder in each of the slayings. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in the attempted strangulation of a third woman, Rhonda Baskin, during the same time period.
Superior Court Judge Amanda F. Williams sentenced Harris to life without parole for each of the killings and to 20 years in prison for the aggravated assault. The sentences will run concurrently.
''Realistically, Mr. Harris will never come out of prison,'' District Attorney Steve Kelley said.
Diagnosed as borderline mentally retarded and in poor health, Harris has been jailed without bond at the Glynn County Detention Center awaiting trial since his arrest.
Harris, who has a record of violent crimes dating back to 1953, could have been sentenced to die in Georgia's electric chair if a jury had convicted him of the triple slaying.
Harris previously has been convicted of armed robbery, aggravated assault with intent to rape, escape and burglary, according to court and Georgia prison records.
In exchange for Harris' guilty pleas in the slayings, prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty. Prosecutors also dismissed a second aggravated assault charge against Harris that stemmed from the attack on Baskin.
Kelley said the plea bargain ensures Harris would not be back on the streets to harm anyone else. Other key factors in the decision were Harris' age, failing health and mental condition, Kelley said.
''It was the right thing to do in the best interest of justice,'' Kelley said.
Kelley said he also considered the possible cost to taxpayers of the death penalty trial, which the judge previously ruled required a change of venue because of extensive publicity about the case in the five-county Brunswick Judicial Circuit.
Because Georgia law does not allow mentally retarded people to be executed, if he had received the death penalty, it might have been later reduced to a life sentence upon appeal, Kelley said.
Capt. Chris Stewart of the Brunswick Police Department, who led a multi-agency homicide task force that investigated the triple slaying and ultimately arrested Harris, said he was satisfied with the outcome of the case.
''It serves the best interest of the victims' families, the community and the justice system,'' Stewart said.
The Brunswick slayings rocked Southeast Georgia prompting law enforcement officials to warn residents at the time not to give rides to strangers or allow them inside their homes.
On July 24, 1993, police recovered Coleman's nude and mutilated body at Academy Creek - a snake- and alligator infested waterway and salt marsh near downtown Brunswick. Jamar'ee never was found despite an exhaustive land, air and water search by authorities.
On Nov. 29, 1993, police found Dowdy, who had been strangled, in a drainage ditch behind Greenwood Cemetery about a half mile north of Academy Creek.
Harris attacked Baskin, who police said was an acquaintance, on Oct. 15, 1993. Harris tried to strangle her with a piece of rope, court documents show.
Harris, who had no permanent address, confessed to the slayings when questioned by police after his arrest.
Harris told investigators he killed Coleman and Dowdy, who were his friends, because he ''just kind of snapped.'' The attack on Baskin also was because he ''snapped,'' Harris told police.
Until the sentencing, Harris denied responsibility for the death of Jamar'ee, whose body was never found.
''He [Harris] had made references [to police] that he had left the baby laying on the edge of the water,'' said Kelley, noting that it was possible that high tides in the area swept the infant away.
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