Guy With Paulding, Douglas Rap Sheet, Gets Life Without Parole

MARIETTA, GA -- An Atlanta man, with a rap sheet from Douglas and Paulding Counties, who attacked and raped a woman as she tried to end their relationship will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Shian Alexander Martin, 41, was sentenced as a recidivist to life in prison without parole, plus 20 years on probation after a Cobb jury Wednesday convicted him of rape, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated sexual battery, and theft charges related to the 2017 attack.

In February 2017, Martin and the woman had known each other for three months, during which time Martin had grown controlling and increasingly violent when the woman expressed needing space from him. He had previously strangled her, threatened her with knives, and kept her from leaving her home for days because he felt she was seeing other people.

On the morning of Feb. 20, 2017, the two were in her apartment on Windy Hill Road. When the woman refused to have sex with Martin, he grabbed a knife and held it to her throat, saying they were both going to die. Over the next several hours, Martin cut, strangled, and raped the woman at knifepoint, causing numerous marks and lacerations on her neck, arms, and legs. She tried to record a video on her laptop, and while Martin was distracted trying to turn it off, the woman escaped and called Cobb police, who arrested Martin that same day.

Martin continued to call the woman from the jail, asking her not to show up for court and stating that he committed the act because she was pulling away, telling her "your body is mine." Jurors also heard from an expert on the dynamics of domestic violence and abusive relationships, who explained how victims can develop an intense psychological bond with their abuser that is similar to an addiction.
"This victim endured escalating abuse at the hands of this dangerous manipulator. Through his words and actions, this Defendant told the victim that her choices, her body, and even her life were under his control," ADA Drew Healy said. "This sentence ensures no other person will have to suffer at the hands of this predator."

Thursday morning, Cobb Superior Court Judge Robert D. Leonard II sentenced Martin as a recidivist to life in prison without parole, plus 20 years on probation. Martin has multiple prior convictions for entering auto, robbery, theft and drugs, in Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties.

Patch Editor Tim Darnell contributed to this article.