COWETA COUNTY JURY FINDS MARCUS STROZIER JR GUILTY OF MURDER OF HIS GIRLFRIEND IN 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 03, 2023

On March 31, 2023, Marcus Strozier, Jr., of Newnan, Ga, was found guilty of Felony Murder by a Coweta County jury in Coweta County Superior Court Case 2023-R-158. Coweta Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Travis Sakrison sentenced Strozier to Life in prison. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on count two – Aggravated Assault with a firearm, so a mistrial was declared as to that count.

Assistant District Attorneys Jillian Cannon and Magen Bateman prosecuted the case with the assistance of Detective Daniel Godfrey of the Newnan Police Department. The evidence presented at trial showed the following:

On April 22, 2021 Carlesha Wells went to Strozier’s residence on Neal Street in Newnan, Georgia. The two had been in a relationship for some time but allegations of Strozier’s infidelity had caused tension between them. What began as an argument between the two on the front steps on the 22nd escalated into an altercation inside the residence. At some point Strozier produced a firearm and shot Carlesha in the middle of her chest from close range. Because Carlesha was standing at the threshold of the door, she fell onto her back in the front yard of Strozier’s residence. She had no weapons on her person and Strozier fled the scene before law enforcement arrived. First responders took Carlesha to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. At trial, through his defense counsel, Strozier argued that he accidentally discharged the firearm and did not intend to kill Carlesha.

This murder was senseless and unjustified. In a moment of anger, Marcus Strozier took Carlesha’s life and changed her family’s life, including that of her two small children, forever. It is just that he was found guilty for his actions and that he received a life sentence.

JOHN HERBERT CRANFORD, JR.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
COWETA JUDICIAL CIRCUIT