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Murdered attorney's wife blamed son who found remains in burn pit before suspicions led to her

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Murdered attorney's wife blamed son who found remains in burn pit before suspicions led to her

The wife of a prominent Georgia attorney was found guilty of his murder this week, more than six years after her husband’s body was discovered in a burn pit. 

On Monday, Melody Farris was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, concealing the death of another and making a false statement, the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. 

The mother of four showed no emotion as the verdict was read in Gary Farris’ killing, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. 

“I’ve seen my mother cry hundreds of times throughout my life, and it appeared to me to be fake,” her son, Scott Farris, told jurors, according to the Tribune Ledger News.

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Melody Farris, who was accused of killing her husband and burning his body, sits in a Cherokee County courtroom Oct. 14, 2024. (Fox 5 Atlanta)

Prosecutors argued Farris was the only person with a motive and the opportunity to kill her husband, noting she was the beneficiary of his $2 million life insurance policy.

According to the Tribune Ledger, they showed the jury that there had been a trail of blood in the couple’s home that spanned from their kitchen, down a set of stairs to the ground level.

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Farris’ attorneys tried to pin the crime on her son, Scott Farris, who discovered his father’s burned body in a pile of ashes on their 10-acre Purcell Lane property in Alpharetta.

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They noted that Farris’ son was the only person in their household who owned .38-caliber ammunition, Fox 5 reported, and questioned how the 130-pound woman could have moved her husband’s 300-pound body onto the burn pile alone.

But the younger Farris denied killing his father or helping to dispose of his body.

Originally, investigators believed Gary Farris had a medical emergency, fell into the fire and died, according to the Tribune Ledger. But a bullet lodged in one of his rib bones launched a homicide investigation.

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The remains of Gary Wayne Farris were found in a burn pit on the Purcell Lane property he shared with his wife in Alpharetta in July 2018. (Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office)

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The younger Farris testified in court that his mother only showed emotion when police told them that the remains found in the pit were human, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

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Although Farris was married to her husband for more than three decades, prosecutors argued that they had marital issues regarding finances around the time of the killing.

It was also revealed in testimony that Farris had an affair with another man in 2009. The defendant’s daughter, Emily Farris, said her parents’ relationship never fully recovered despite her father’s attempts to reconcile. 

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In June 2019, nearly a year after the remains were found, Melody Farris was arrested in Tullahoma, Tenn., and taken into custody in Cherokee County. (Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office)

Farris initially told investigators she never had an affair. However, she changed her statement to say she had ended an extramarital relationship with a different man in 2017, People reported. 

Farris was removed from joint bank accounts after the affair, the daughter testified, but she still had financial control and influence over family decisions.

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A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for December, according to Fox 5.



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Southeast

Louisiana manhunt continues as dangerous inmate charged with attempted murder remains on the run

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Louisiana manhunt continues as dangerous inmate charged with attempted murder remains on the run

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Louisiana authorities are continuing to search for the last of three inmates who broke through a deteriorating wall on Wednesday and escaped a jail about 130 miles northwest of New Orleans.

The three inmates, identified as Keith Eli, 24, of Opelousas; Johnathan Jevon Joseph, 24, of Opelousas; and Joseph Allen Harrington, 26, of Melville, allegedly used sheets and other items to scale an outer wall, drop onto the roof of the first floor and lower themselves to the ground, according to a statement from the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Harrington killed himself with a hunting rifle Thursday after a standoff with police at a home in Port Barre, The Associated Press reported. 

Prior to his escape, St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office records show, he was charged with nine felonies, including home invasion and aggravated assault with a firearm.

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Keith Eli, left; Johnathan Jevon Joseph, center; and Joseph Allen Harrington, inmates who escaped from a Louisiana prison. (St. Landry Parish Sheriff via Facebook)

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Police nabbed the second escapee, Joseph, the next day after a foot chase. 

Sheriff’s officials said a tip led deputies to a home where he was hiding out, according to the report. He surrendered after fleeing to a nearby storage shed.

Joseph, also a convicted felon, was previously charged with principal first-degree rape, along with drug and gun offenses.

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The inmates escaped St. Landry Parish Jail Wednesday in Louisiana. (Google Maps)

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The third missing inmate, Eli, remains missing and was charged with attempted second-degree murder.

“We would prefer that he surrender himself peaceably, but we will not rest until he is captured,” St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz wrote in a statement obtained by the AP.

In May, 10 prisoners escaped a minimum-custody New Orleans jail after removing a toilet from a wall inside a cell and crawling through it.

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Video cameras in the prison captured the brazen escape, with footage showing the group scaling a fence, using blankets to protect themselves from barbed wire and running across an interstate to a nearby neighborhood where they changed clothes.

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Inmates wrote messages, including, “To Easy LOL” and “WE INNOCENT,” among others, near the hole they used to flee the jail.

The last remaining fugitive, a four-time convicted killer, was arrested five months after the escape after a standoff with authorities in Atlanta.

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Three jail employees have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Fox News Digital previously reported.

An internal investigation has been initiated, and the jail supervisory staff will be providing a comprehensive report, according to Guidroz.

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Disgraced teacher accused of using Google Docs to groom underage student before alleged sex crimes

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Disgraced teacher accused of using Google Docs to groom underage student before alleged sex crimes

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A Palm Beach County, Florida, science teacher is behind bars after investigators say he used a shared Google Doc to secretly communicate with a student before engaging in sexual acts with her at school and inside his apartment, according to an arrest affidavit. 

Elias Gordon Farley, 26, a former teacher at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, was arrested after the student reported the alleged abuse on Nov. 18. 

The teen told detectives the interactions began as casual conversations during the previous school year, but over the summer, Farley allegedly created a shared Google Doc in which the two wrote messages back and forth.

Investigators said the file later contained explicit entries describing sexual activity and planning when they would meet privately.

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Elias Gordon Farley, a former teacher at the Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, is facing felony charges after police say he engaged in a months-long sexual relationship with a student.  (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)

According to the affidavit, the student said the relationship became physical in mid-September inside Farley’s office, where he touched her beneath her clothing. She told detectives the encounters continued for weeks in both his office and a classroom. 

By late September and into October, she said the pair were engaging in sexual acts, including oral sex and, at one point, intercourse inside a classroom on campus.

The student also described visiting Farley’s apartment twice in early November after recognizing details he had mentioned about its location and layout. She told deputies that several sexual encounters occurred during those visits.

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A teacher was accused of using Google Docs to talk to an underage student before sexual encounters. (Google Maps)

Detectives later executed a search warrant and said they found bedding, condom wrappers and furniture matching her description. Farley’s roommate confirmed he had not been home on the dates the teen said she visited.

School surveillance video reviewed by deputies also appeared to support her account, showing Farley and the student entering his office together on Nov. 7 and later entering a classroom for about an hour.

The situation came to light after the student confided in an art teacher on Nov. 14 and showed her bruises and bite marks she said came from Farley. Administrators were informed the next day, suspended Farley immediately and reported the matter to child welfare authorities.

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A former science teacher at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Palm Beach County was arrested after allegations of an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. (iStock)

Farley refused to speak with detectives after being read his Miranda rights, according to the affidavit.

Farley was booked into the Palm Beach County Main Detention Center Dec. 4 and is being held on $500,000 bond, jail records show. He faces charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and offense against a student by an authority figure.

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, Donna Klein Jewish Academy said it is cooperating fully with the investigation and called the situation “a difficult time for all of us at Donna Klein.”

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“We are approaching this serious situation with the utmost care, keeping the well-being of our students, faculty and families at the forefront,” a spokesperson said.

The school said it is working closely with families, teachers and staff to ensure they have the support they need, adding that its priority is maintaining “a safe, compassionate and educational environment for all.”

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The spokesperson said no additional details would be released “out of respect for the privacy of our community” but that Farley is no longer employed at the school. 

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The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office at 561-688-3000.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

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Florida teens in custody after 14-year-old girl found shot to death, burnt: sheriff

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Florida teens in custody after 14-year-old girl found shot to death, burnt: sheriff

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Two teen boys in Florida are accused of fatally shooting a 14-year-old girl and setting her on fire along a wooded walking trail last week in what authorities are calling a “horrific” killing.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters Thursday that the body has been identified as Danika Troy. He said Danika’s mother reported her as a runaway on Monday.

“Unbeknownst to the mother, Danika was murdered the previous night,” Johnson said.

A passerby discovered Danika’s body along a wooded area off Kimberly Road in Pace, a town about 16 miles northeast of Pensacola, and called 911, Johnson said.

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Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters that the suspects were supposedly friends with the victim from school. He said investigators were still working to determine a motive. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)

Investigators quickly identified the suspects as 14-year-old Kimahri Blevins and 16-year-old Gabriel Williams and took them into custody.

“This is where it gets really horrific,” Johnson said.

Kimahri Blevins, 14, is facing premeditated first-degree murder charges. Authorities are seeking to charge him as an adult. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)

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Williams allegedly stole his mother’s handgun and shot Danika.

“It’s bad enough you kill a 14-year-old. You’re 14. You’re 16,” Johnson said. “Shoot her multiple times, and then they set her on fire.”

Gabriel Williams, 16, is facing premeditated first-degree murder charges. Authorities are seeking to charge him as an adult. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)

Johnson said investigators are still working to determine a motive.

“They have been interviewed, but the motive that they’re giving doesn’t fit the forensics or any facts of the case, so we don’t have a legit motive,” he told reporters.

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Blevins and Williams supposedly knew the victim from school, according to Johnson. He believed the two teens have had previous “run-ins” with law enforcement, though he could not immediately say if they had earlier arrests.

Blevins and Williams are being held at the Department of Juvenile Justice on premeditated first-degree murder charges. 

“You don’t want to go out and see a burnt child with bullet holes,” Johnson said. “That’s not something you sign up for.”

Johnson said no parents have been charged at this time, though investigators are “looking into it.”

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The sheriff’s office is working with the State Attorney to charge both teens as adults.

“If you do an adult crime, you gotta do adult time,” Johnson said.

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