Georgia woman found guilty of murdering husband, burning body

CANTON, Ga. (CN) — After three days of deliberations, a jury in Cherokee County on Monday found Melody Farris — accused of murdering her husband and burning his body — guilty on all charges.

The 64-year-old stood stoic, showing no emotions as the jury’s verdict was read, finding her guilty on all five counts.

She was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, concealing the death of another and making a false statement in the death of her husband, Gary Farris.

Farris was handcuffed and taken into custody where she will remain until a sentencing hearing is held on the first week of December.

Earlier Monday, the jury informed Cherokee County Superior Court Judge David Cannon Jr., that they were at an impasse, but the judge encouraged them to continue deliberating.

Scott Farris, one of her adult sons whom her attorneys tried to frame as the actual murder culprit, appeared in the courtroom crying.

The unusual circumstances surrounding Gary Farris’ mysterious death and unveiling of his wife’s hidden life has drawn significant attention to the case.

Scott Farris was the first to notice the human remains in the burn pile and to report it to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office on July 5, 2018.

Authorities initially believed Gary Farris’ death was a result of a medical incident, but the discovery of a bullet in the ribs of his remains transformed the case into a homicide investigation.

At trial, a forensic pathologist testified that the single shot would not have been enough to kill him, leaving it a mystery of how he actually died with no murder weapon ever found.

Throughout the three-week trial, defense attorneys pointed to Scott Farris as the most likely suspect, noting that he was missing a gun and was the only one who possessed the same kind of bullets as the one found in Gary Farris’s ribs and one found on the floor of his bedroom.

Before the jury began deliberating late last Wednesday, defense attorneys attempted to persuade jurors that too many unanswered questions remain in the case to find Melody Farris guilty.

They also questioned how a tiny woman like Melody Farris could have moved her husband, who was 6 feet, 3 inches tall and over 300 pounds, from inside their home and onto the burn pile outside.

But prosecutors argued Melody Farris was the only one who had a real motive to kill Gary Farris, who was a prominent Atlanta-area attorney for the firm Burr and Forman.

While the couple was married for 38 years, several witnesses testified that the two lived completely separate lives.

They lived separately in their upscale home on a massive 10-acre property in Alpharetta, along with their son, Scott Farris.

Two of Melody Farris’ secret paramours testified at trial, as prosecutors tried to use her affairs as proof of her dishonesty and lack of remorse toward her murdered husband.

One of the men, Roy “Rusty” Barton, told authorities that he and Melody Farris had planned on getting married after her husband was out of the picture. Prosecutors played several recorded phone conversations between Farris and Barton to the jury, including his unusual reaction to her informing him Gary Farris’ remains had been discovered in the burn pile.

“Don’t say anything else. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know,” Barton told Melody Farris.

Melody Farris was arrested for lying to authorities about having any extramarital affairs and ending her relationship with Barton — with whom she was found in Tullahoma, Tennessee, after her husband’s death.

While Melody Farris refused to testify in her own trial, her and Gary Farris’ four adult children took the stand and gave emotional testimonies.

Scott and Chris Farris testified that they questioned their mother’s lack of emotional response to their father’s death and why she did not hold a funeral for him.

Meanwhile, their sister Amanda Farris also testified of Scott Farris being the only one with guns, the first to notice the remains in the burn pile, having few friends and bouts of aggression after returning home from the military.

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