Man Strangles Wife 2 Days After Divorce, Gets Life In Prison

DOUGLAS COUNTY, GA -- On the morning of his scheduled jury trial, Monday April 29, Douglasville resident Byron Whynn entered a guilty plea to the offense of felony murder and received a sentence of life in prison. Chief Judge David T. Emerson imposed the sentence.

In November 2016, Whynn strangled his wife to death two days after they signed divorce papers. The case was worked by the Major Case Unit of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and Douglasville Police Department.

District Attorney Ryan Leonard prosecuted the case.

Leonard said, “It is my job to be ready to try every case, and often it takes the State fully preparing a case for trial and the jury standing outside the courtroom before a defendant will accept responsibility for his actions. I am thankful that the defendant in this case accepted his punishment and prevented his 16 year old daughter from having to testify as a State’s witness. Hopefully his daughter and the rest of her family can achieve some closure from this plea and continue to heal from their loss.”