Kelvin Demond Williams (Cherokee County Sheriff's Office). Tenisha Williams (Cherokee County District Attorney).
A 48-year-old Georgia man cornered his wife in the kitchen and murdered her before asking her "you dead, [expletive]?" and then lighting up a cigarette near her body while awaiting cops.
Kelvin Demond Williams was convicted Thursday of murder and aggravated assault along with other charges in the death of his 48-year-old wife Tenisha Williams and shooting of his stepson, according to the Cherokee County District Attorney's Office. Superior Court Judge Shannon Wallace sentenced Williams to life in prison without parole plus 100 years.
The shooting occurred around 10:40 p.m. on July 13, 2025, at a home on Daventry Crossing in Woodstock, which is about 10 miles north of Marietta. A 16-year-old boy called 911 to say his stepfather was shooting at him and shot his mother. He was hiding in a bedroom while his 4-year-old brother slept in another room.
When cops arrived, they found the suspect standing in the kitchen smoking a cigarette. They took him into custody before going inside and finding Tenisha Williams dead from a gunshot wound in the kitchen with the murder weapon on the kitchen island. Deputies then removed the teenager and 4-year-old who were not physically hurt from the home.
Jurors during the nearly 4-day trial viewed in-home camera footage which captured the shooting. It showed the defendant firing the first shot at his stepson's head, which missed. He fired two more shots at his wife and another at his stepson as he ran to his room, all of which missed the mark.
Kelvin Williams then cornered her as she begged him not to shoot. The fifth and final shot proved fatal. After he fired, he stood over her body and said "you dead, [expletive]?"
Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ashe, who prosecuted the case, said the evidence was "overwhelming." Jurors deliberated for less than an hour.
"Over the course of years, the defendant systematically isolated his wife and controlled her movements, even requiring her to wear a Bluetooth device so he could monitor her when she left the home," Ashe said. "Evidence showed that on the day of the murder, he had her purchase and load the firearm he would later use to kill her. To this day, the defendant has shown no remorse, only indifference and cruelty."
Family members at sentencing described the defendant's control over her as so strict that she was not allowed to speak with her adult children nor permitted to attend her own mother's funeral.
The judge said Kelvin Williams' actions were "unfathomable."
District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said the violence inflicted upon the victim was "evil and inexcusable."
"We are deeply grateful to the jury, who were asked to watch and hear things no one should ever have to experience," she said. "They did so with care, courage, and a commitment to justice. Our hearts go out to the innocent children who will be forever affected by this senseless, brutal murder."