The accused ringleader in the killing of a young woman at a drug house in Buford three years ago has been convicted in the murder.
The Gwinnett Daily Post reports Amy McGarity was convicted Monday on all counts, including malice murder and felony murder, in the death of 20-year-old Kayla Weil.
The jury deliberated three hours before handing down its verdict.
Weil died in July 2013 in a drug house on Cloud Street after McGarity beat her with a handgun and then strangled her with an Ethernet cord, according to the newspaper report. Weil's body was then wrapped in a blanket and dumped at Chestnut Ridge Park, a closed park on the southern shores of Lake Lanier. Her body was found three months after she was killed.
McGarity was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus five years to serve consecutively, according to the newspaper.
Three other men also were in the house at the time Weil was murdered. Cedric English was charged with concealing the death; he entered a negotiated plea and will spend three years behind bars and seven on probation. Cody Williams was convicted of murder in March for his part in the crime; he has not yet been sentenced. The newspaper said Frank Wiley was in the house when the murder occurred, but he told authorities he was high on drugs and did not participate in the crime; he came forward to authorities to tell them what happened, testimony that led to trial for the other three.
The newspaper said McGarity and Williams killed Weil because they believed she had stolen from them.
